The W-words, and “who” in four cases
Wer, wen, wem, wessen
“Who” changes with its job in the sentence, its case, just like der becomes den and dem. So do welcher (which) and was für ein (what kind of). Tap a row to hear it.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| wer?VAIR | who (subject) | Wer ist das?Who is that? |
| wen?VAIN | who(m) (accusative) | Wen besuchst du?Who are you visiting? |
| wem?VAIM | to whom (dative) | Wem gehört das?Whose is this? |
| wessen?VE-sen | whose (genitive) | Wessen Jacke ist das?Whose jacket is that? |
| was?VAS | what | Was machst du?What are you doing? |
| wann?VAN | when | Wann kommst du?When are you coming? |
| wie?VEE | how | Wie heißt du?What’s your name? |
| wie viel? wie viele?vee FEEL, vee FEE-le | how much, how many | Wie viel kostet das?How much is it? |
| warum?va-RUM | why | Warum lachst du?Why are you laughing? |
| welcher, welche, welches?VEL-kher | which | Welcher Zug fährt nach Wien?Which train goes to Vienna? |
| was für ein?vas FÜR ain | what kind of | Was für ein Auto hast du?What kind of car do you have? |
| wie lange?vee LAN-ge | how long | Wie lange bleibst du?How long are you staying? |
Where, where to, where from
Wo, wohin, woher
wo?Where something is: no movement. Answer with the dative.VOH vohnst doo · “Where do you live?”
Wowherewohnstlivedu?you
wohin?Where to: movement towards. Answer with the accusative.vo-HIN gayst doo · “Where are you going?”
Wohinwhere-togehstgodu?you
woher?Where from: the origin.vo-HAIR komst doo · “Where are you from?”
Woherwhere-fromkommstcomedu?you
Wo + preposition for things
Womit? Mit wem?
For a thing, join wo- to the preposition (add -r- before a vowel: worauf, worüber). For a person, keep the preposition and use wen or wem.
Thingvo-MIT shraipst doo · “What are you writing with?”
Womitwith-whatschreibstwritedu?you
Personmit VAIM shprikhst doo · “Who are you talking to?”
Mit wemwith whomsprichstspeakdu?you
Thingvo-RÜ-ber LAKHST doo · “What are you laughing about?”
Worüberabout-whatlachstlaughdu?you
Personü-ber VAIN LAKHST doo · “Who are you laughing at?”
Über wenabout whomlachstlaughdu?you
Thingvo-RAUF VAR-test doo · “What are you waiting for?”
Woraufon-whatwartestwaitdu?you
Personauf VAIN VAR-test doo · “Who are you waiting for?”
Auf wenfor whomwartestwaitdu?you
Thingvo-FÜR ist DAS · “What is that for?”
Wofürfor-whatistisdas?that
Personfür VAIN ist DAS · “Who is that for?”
Für wenfor whomistisdas?that
Thingvo-RAN DENKST doo · “What are you thinking about?”
Woranof-whatdenkstthinkdu?you
Personan VAIN DENKST doo · “Who are you thinking of?”
An wenof whomdenkstthinkdu?you
Polite and indirect questions
Weißt du, ob…? Können Sie mir sagen, wo…?
Polite questions often hide inside a longer one. Then the question word (or ob, “whether”, for yes/no) starts a subordinate clause, and its verb goes to the very end.
- 1Direct: Wo ist der Bahnhof?Können Siecan youmirmesagen,tellwowhereder Bahnhofthe stationist?isKÖ-nen zee meer ZAA-gen, VOH dair BAAN-hohf IST · “Can you tell me where the station is?”
- 2Direct: Kommt er?Weißt du,do-you-knowobwhethererhekommt?comesVAIST doo, OP air KOMT · “Do you know if he’s coming?”
- 3Direct: Wie viel kostet das?IchIfrage mich,wonderwie vielhow muchdasthatkostet.costsikh FRAA-ge mikh, vee FEEL das KOS-tet · “I wonder how much that costs.”
- 4Direct: Warum ist sie gegangen?IchIweiß nicht,don’t knowwarumwhysieshegegangengoneist.isikh vais NIKHT, va-RUM zee ge-GAN-gen IST · “I don’t know why she left.”
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