If you can ask, you can survive. That is the single most useful rule for anyone starting out, and it is why basic German questions deserve your attention long before irregular verbs or the genitive case. A learner who knows twenty questions can order dinner, find a train, book a room and keep a conversation alive for ten minutes. A learner who memorised two hundred nouns but no questions just stands there pointing.
This guide gives you the nine German question words, the two sentence patterns that generate almost every question you will ever need, fifty ready-to-use phrases sorted by situation, and the mistakes English speakers make most often in 2026 classrooms. Everything here sits at A1–A2 level on the Council of Europe’s CEFR scale, so it is exactly what an absolute beginner needs first.
The Nine German Question Words (W-Fragen)
German question words nearly all begin with W, which is why Germans call them W-Fragen. Helpfully, that W is pronounced like an English V. Learn these nine and you have unlocked open-ended conversation.
| German | Pronunciation | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wer | vair | Who | Wer ist das? — Who is that? |
| Was | vass | What | Was machst du? — What are you doing? |
| Wo | voh | Where | Wo ist der Bahnhof? — Where is the station? |
| Wohin | vo-HIN | Where to | Wohin gehst du? — Where are you going? |
| Woher | vo-HAIR | Where from | Woher kommst du? — Where are you from? |
| Wann | vann | When | Wann beginnt der Kurs? — When does the course start? |
| Warum | va-ROOM | Why | Warum lernst du Deutsch? — Why are you learning German? |
| Wie | vee | How | Wie heißt du? — What’s your name? |
| Welcher / Welche / Welches | VEL-shur | Which | Welches Gleis? — Which platform? |
Two of these trip people up. English collapses where, where to and where from into one word; German keeps three. And wie means “how”, so Wie heißt du? literally asks “How are you called?” — not “What is your name?” Translating word-for-word from English is what produces the classic beginner error Was ist dein Name?, which is understood but sounds stiff.
How to Build a German Question: Two Simple Patterns
German question grammar is genuinely easier than English question grammar, because there is no equivalent of the helper verb do. You never need “do you”, “does he” or “did they”. You just move the verb.
Pattern 1 — Yes/no questions: verb first
Take a statement, swap the first two elements, and you have a question.
- Du sprichst Deutsch. → Sprichst du Deutsch? (Do you speak German?)
- Er hat Zeit. → Hat er Zeit? (Does he have time?)
- Das Zimmer ist frei. → Ist das Zimmer frei? (Is the room available?)
Pattern 2 — Open questions: W-word, then verb
Put the question word in position one and the conjugated verb in position two. That verb-second rule is the backbone of German word order.
- Wo wohnst du? — Where do you live?
- Wann fährt der Bus? — When does the bus leave?
- Wie viel kostet das? — How much does that cost?
That is the entire system. If you can conjugate sein, haben and a handful of regular verbs, you can already generate hundreds of correct basic German questions. Our guide to German word order for beginners goes deeper into why the verb behaves this way.
50 Basic German Questions for Everyday Situations
Group your phrases by situation, not by grammar. Your brain retrieves language by context, which is why waiters and ticket machines are better filing categories than “dative verbs”.
Meeting people
- Wie heißt du? / Wie heißen Sie? — What’s your name?
- Wie geht’s? — How are you?
- Woher kommst du? — Where are you from?
- Wie alt bist du? — How old are you?
- Was machst du beruflich? — What do you do for work?
- Sprichst du Englisch? — Do you speak English?
- Kannst du das bitte wiederholen? — Can you repeat that, please?
- Wie schreibt man das? — How do you spell that?
- Was bedeutet “Feierabend”? — What does “Feierabend” mean?
- Darf ich dich etwas fragen? — May I ask you something?
Directions and travel
- Wo ist die Toilette? — Where is the toilet?
- Wo ist der nächste Bahnhof? — Where is the nearest station?
- Wie komme ich zum Zentrum? — How do I get to the centre?
- Wann fährt der nächste Zug nach Köln? — When does the next train to Cologne leave?
- Welches Gleis, bitte? — Which platform, please?
- Ist es weit von hier? — Is it far from here?
- Können Sie mir helfen? — Can you help me?
- Hält dieser Bus am Museum? — Does this bus stop at the museum?
- Wie lange dauert die Fahrt? — How long does the journey take?
- Gibt es hier WLAN? — Is there Wi-Fi here?
Cafés, restaurants and shops
- Haben Sie einen Tisch für zwei? — Do you have a table for two?
- Was empfehlen Sie? — What do you recommend?
- Was ist das Tagesgericht? — What’s the dish of the day?
- Ist das vegetarisch? — Is that vegetarian?
- Wie viel kostet das? — How much does that cost?
- Kann ich mit Karte zahlen? — Can I pay by card?
- Haben Sie das in Größe M? — Do you have this in size M?
- Darf ich das anprobieren? — May I try this on?
- Können wir bitte zahlen? — Could we pay, please?
- Ist der Platz frei? — Is this seat taken?
In class and while studying
- Wie sagt man das auf Deutsch? — How do you say that in German?
- Können Sie langsamer sprechen? — Can you speak more slowly?
- Habe ich das richtig gesagt? — Did I say that correctly?
- Was ist der Unterschied zwischen “kennen” und “wissen”? — What’s the difference between…?
- Wann haben wir die nächste Stunde? — When is our next lesson?
- Ist das formell oder informell? — Is that formal or informal?
Small talk that keeps a conversation going
- Was machst du am Wochenende? — What are you doing at the weekend?
- Warst du schon einmal in Berlin? — Have you ever been to Berlin?
- Magst du Fußball? — Do you like football?
- Wie lange wohnst du schon hier? — How long have you lived here?
- Wie war dein Tag? — How was your day?
- Und du? — And you?
That last one is the highest-value phrase on this page. Und du? costs two words and hands the conversation back, buying you thinking time while sounding engaged.
Du or Sie? Choosing the Right “You” Before You Ask
Every German question containing “you” forces a social decision. Get it wrong and you are either rude or oddly formal. Here is the practical split most speakers use today.
| Situation | Use | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Adult stranger, shop, office, official | Sie | Wie heißen Sie? |
| Friends, family, children, students | du | Wie heißt du? |
| Colleagues (varies by company) | Ask first | Sollen wir uns duzen? |
| Startups, sports clubs, hostels | du | Kommst du auch aus England? |
| Anyone older than you, unknown | Sie | Können Sie mir helfen? |
Practical rule from years of teaching beginners: default to Sie with any adult you have not been introduced to. Nobody has ever been offended by unnecessary politeness, and Germans will invite you to switch with Wir können uns duzen. The Goethe-Institut, Germany’s official cultural body, tests exactly this register awareness in its A1 and A2 speaking exams. See also our breakdown of German greetings and introductions.
Five Mistakes English Speakers Make With German Questions
- Adding “do”. Tust du sprechen Deutsch? is not a sentence. Move the verb instead.
- Using wo for movement. “Where are you going?” is Wohin gehst du?, never Wo gehst du?
- Forgetting the case after prepositions. Mit wem? (with whom) uses dative, not mit wer. Our post on German cases for beginners untangles this.
- Rising intonation only. In English, “You’re coming?” works as a question. In German you must invert the verb — intonation alone sounds uncertain, not interrogative.
- Over-literal politeness. Kann ich bitte…? is fine, but Könnten Sie eventuell vielleicht…? stacks softeners in a way that sounds anxious rather than polite.
One original tip that speeds this up enormously: practise questions in pairs, not lists. Every time you learn Woher kommst du?, immediately rehearse the answer Ich komme aus Kanada. Learners who drill question-and-answer pairs reach conversational fluency noticeably faster than learners who drill vocabulary in isolation, because you are training retrieval under the same conditions you will actually use.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you ask questions in German?
Two ways. For yes/no questions, put the conjugated verb first: Sprichst du Deutsch? For open questions, put a W-word first and the verb second: Wo wohnst du? German has no auxiliary “do”, so you never translate it.
What are the nine German question words?
Wer (who), was (what), wo (where), wohin (where to), woher (where from), wann (when), warum (why), wie (how) and welcher/welche/welches (which). All are pronounced with a V sound at the start.
How many basic German questions should a beginner learn first?
Around twenty-five to thirty covers introductions, directions, ordering and shopping — enough for a short trip. Learn the nine W-words plus the fifty phrases above and you comfortably clear the A1 speaking requirement.
Is it rude to use “du” with a stranger in Germany?
It can be, especially with older people, officials and in shops or banks. Use Sie until someone offers du. Among students, in hostels and in many tech workplaces, du is standard from the first minute.
Start Asking, Start Speaking
Mastering basic German questions is the shortest route from silent studying to real conversation. Learn the nine W-Fragen, drill the two word-order patterns, choose du or Sie deliberately, and rehearse each question together with a natural answer. Do that consistently and your first genuine exchange in German is weeks away, not years.
Ready to practise these questions with someone who answers back? Book a lesson with a friendly, qualified German tutor at The Cognitio and put all fifty phrases to work in your very first session.