German W-Questions: wer, was, wo, wie (A1)

Level: A1. W-questions (German W-Fragen) are the open questions that ask for information — who, what, where, when, how, why. They all start with a question word beginning with w, and they all use the same simple word order.

The rule

An open question asks for new information, not just yes or no. In German every open question begins with a W-word (a Fragewort). The pattern is always the same:

W-word + conjugated verb + subject + rest.

The key idea is that the verb comes second — in position two, right after the W-word. The subject (who does the action) follows the verb. So Wo wohnst du? is literally “Where live you?” — the verb wohnst sits in second place, and the subject du comes after it.

This is different from English, which keeps a helper like do (“Where do you live?”). German has no do; it simply flips the verb and subject.

The question words

How to say it

The W-words are short, but a few sounds trip up English speakers:

• w sounds like English v: wer ≈ “vair”, was ≈ “vas”, wo ≈ “vo”.
• wie rhymes with English “fee”: ≈ “vee”.
• warum stresses the second part: ≈ “va-ROOM”, with a soft throaty r.
• wohin / woher stress the second syllable too: ≈ “vo-HIN”, “vo-HAIR”.

Example sentences

1. Wer bist du?
   Who are you?
   wer = who, subject
2. Was machst du?
   What are you doing?
3. Wo wohnst du?
   Where do you live?
   wo = at a place
4. Wohin gehst du?
   Where are you going (to)?
   wohin = direction
5. Woher kommst du?
   Where do you come from?
   woher = origin
6. Wann beginnt der Film?
   When does the film start?
7. Wie heißt du?
   What is your name?
   literally: how are you called?
8. Wie geht es dir?
   How are you?
9. Warum lernst du Deutsch?
   Why are you learning German?
10. Was kostet das?
    What does that cost?
11. Wer kommt heute?
    Who is coming today?
    wer takes a singular verb
12. Wo ist der Bahnhof?
    Where is the station?
13. Wann hast du Zeit?
    When do you have time?
14. Wie alt bist du?
    How old are you?
15. Wie viel kostet der Kaffee?
    How much does the coffee cost?
16. Welches Buch liest du?
    Which book are you reading?
17. Warum ist das Geschäft zu?
    Why is the shop closed?
18. Wohin fährt der Zug?
    Where is the train going (to)?
19. Woher weißt du das?
    How (from where) do you know that?
20. Was ist das?
    What is that?

Common mistakes

• ❌ Wo du wohnst? → ✅ Wo wohnst du? The verb must come second, before the subject.
• ❌ Wohin kommst du? (to ask origin) → ✅ Woher kommst du? kommen aus/von is about origin, so use woher.
• ❌ Wo gehst du? (to ask destination) → ✅ Wohin gehst du? Movement to a place needs wohin.
• ❌ Wer kommen heute? → ✅ Wer kommt heute? wer is singular — use the er/sie/es verb form.
• ❌ Wie viel Menschen? → ✅ Wie viele Menschen? Use wie viele for countable plurals, wie viel for uncountable amounts.

A short conversation

Am Bahnhof: — Woher kommst du? — Ich komme aus Italien. Und du, wo wohnst du jetzt? — In Berlin. Wohin fährst du heute? — Nach München. Wann fährt der Zug ab?

Usage notes

• The verb never moves. Even with a long W-phrase, the conjugated verb stays in slot two: Wie viele Brüder hast du?
• wer declines later. As you advance, wer changes with case: wen (whom, object), wem (to whom). At A1 you mainly need the subject wer with a singular verb.
• wie does double duty. wie means both “how” (Wie geht es dir?) and, in fixed phrases, “what” (Wie heißt du? = “What are you called?”).
• Separable verbs split. The prefix goes to the end: Wann fährt der Zug ab? (abfahren = to depart).

Compared with yes/no questions

A yes/no question has no W-word. Instead the verb jumps to the very front, and you can answer with ja or nein:

• W-question: Wo wohnst du? → “I live in Berlin.” (needs information)
• Yes/no question: Wohnst du in Berlin? → Ja / Nein. (verb first, no W-word)

So the W-word is what turns a yes/no question into an open one. For the verb forms you are using here, revisit German present tense: regular verbs and German personal pronouns.

Quick recap before the quiz.

Practice

Practice

W-questions practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Which question asks where someone lives?

Wohin wohnst du? Wo wohnst du? Woher wohnst du? Wann wohnst du?

Check

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Wo wohnst du? — wo asks about a location at a place; wohnen is about where you are.

2 Complete: ____ kommst du? (Where are you from?)

Check

Hint: origin, from a place

Show answer

Woher — woher asks about origin: Woher kommst du?

3 Order the words: 'When does the film start?'

der FilmbeginntWann

CheckReset

Show answer

Wann beginnt der Film — W-word first, verb second, subject after: Wann beginnt der Film?

4 Match each W-word to what it asks about.

• wer Match for wer — choose — a directiona persona reasona time
• wann Match for wann — choose — a directiona persona reasona time
• warum Match for warum — choose — a directiona persona reasona time
• wohin Match for wohin — choose — a directiona persona reasona time

Check

Show answer

• wer → a person
• wann → a time
• warum → a reason
• wohin → a direction

wer = who, wann = when, warum = why, wohin = where to.

5 Pick the correct word order.

Was du machst? Was machst du? Du was machst? Machst was du?

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Show answer

Was machst du? — The verb machst must come second, right after was.

Quiz

Check yourself

German W-questions quiz

12 questions · pick an answer and you'll see straight away if it's right.

0/12 0 answered

1. 1Which word means 'who'?

   A was B wer C wo D wie
   Show answer

   wer — wer = who (for a person).

2. 2'Where do you live?' is…

   A Wohin wohnst du? B Wo wohnst du? C Woher wohnst du? D Wo du wohnst?
   Show answer

   Wo wohnst du? — wo for a location, and the verb wohnst comes second.

3. 3To ask where someone is going, use…

   A wo B woher C wohin D wann
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   wohin — wohin asks about direction, movement to a place.

4. 4To ask where someone is from, use…

   A wohin B woher C wo D warum
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   woher — woher asks about origin — from where.

5. 5In a W-question, the conjugated verb goes…

   A at the end B in second place, after the W-word C before the W-word D it is dropped
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   in second place, after the W-word — The verb always sits in slot two, right after the W-word.

6. 6Which is correct?

   A Wann du kommst? B Wann kommst du? C Du wann kommst? D Kommst wann du?
   Show answer

   Wann kommst du? — W-word (Wann) + verb (kommst) + subject (du).

7. 7'Wie heißt du?' literally asks…

   A How old are you? B What are you called? C Where are you? D Why are you here?
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   What are you called? — wie heißen = to be called, so it asks your name.

8. 8Which verb form fits 'Wer ___ heute?'

   A kommen B kommst C kommt D komme
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   kommt — wer is singular, so it takes the er/sie/es form kommt.

9. 9Which asks about quantity of countable things?

   A wie viel B wie viele C wie D was
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   wie viele — wie viele is for countable plurals; wie viel is for amounts.

10. 10How do you turn 'Du wohnst in Berlin.' into a yes/no question?

    A Add a W-word B Move the verb to the front: Wohnst du in Berlin? C Change nothing D Put the verb at the end
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    Move the verb to the front: Wohnst du in Berlin? — Yes/no questions put the verb first and use no W-word.

11. 11Complete: ____ kostet das? (What does that cost?)
    Check
    Show answer

    Was — was asks about a thing or amount: Was kostet das?

12. 12Why can't you answer 'Warum lernst du Deutsch?' with 'ja'?

    A It is rude B W-questions ask for information, not yes/no C warum means yes D You can
    Show answer

    W-questions ask for information, not yes/no — Open W-questions expect information, so ja/nein does not answer them.

Recap cheat-sheet

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