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JLPT N5 Grammar: どう (dou)
How / What about – Asking for opinions, methods, and suggestions
JLPT N5 文法 どう 解説
⏱️ Study time: 5–7 minutes
Master どう in 5–7 minutes. Learn how to ask "how", "what about", or "in what way" — one of the most important question words for everyday Japanese conversation.
🚀 Quick JLPT N5 Warm-up Quiz
Q1: "How was the movie?" Which is correct? A. 映画はどうでしたか B. 映画はどんなでしたか
Answer: A (どう asks "how was it"; どんな must be followed by a noun)
Quick Summary
Grammar Point どう
Meaning How / What about / In what way
Usage どう + Verb/Adjective
Example どうしましたか。どうしましたか。Dō shimashita ka. What's the matter? / What happened?
📝 Grammar Pattern
どう + Verb / Adjective / です・ですか
例: どう思いますか (What do you think?), どうですか (How is it?)
💡 Switch to Hiragana only or Rōmaji if you're just starting out.
What is どう?
どう is a question word meaning “how”, “in what way”, or “what about”. It's used to ask about methods, states, opinions, and suggestions. It can stand alone or combine with verbs, adjectives, and です/ですか.
どうですか — How is it? / What do you think?
どう思いますか — What do you think?
どうやって — How (by what means)?
どうしたの？ — What's wrong? (casual)
非常によく使う基本の疑問詞です。ひじょうによくつかうきほんのぎもんしです。Hijō ni yoku tsukau kihon no gimon-shi desu.
How to Pronounce
どう： dō (long "o" sound, like "dough")
どうですか / どう思う？ / どうやって
Examples & Mini Dialogue
映画はどうでしたか。えいがはどうでしたか。Eiga wa dō deshita ka. How was the movie? (どう + past polite)
Answer: 面白かったです (It was interesting).
どう思いますか。どうおもいますか。Dō omoimasu ka. What do you think? (どう + verb 思う)
Very common in discussions and interviews.
どうしたんですか。どうしたんですか。Dō shitan desu ka. What's the matter? / What happened? (どう + した)
Casual: どうしたの？. Polite: どうされましたか.
🗣️ Mini Dialogue
A: この料理、どう？このりょうり、どう？Kono ryōri, dō?
B: おいしいよ！おいしいよ！Oishii yo!
When to Use in Real Japan
Asking for opinions: この本、どう？
Checking on someone: 気分はどうですか？
Asking about method: どうやって行きますか？
Making suggestions: もう一杯どうですか？
⚡ どう vs どんな vs どうやって: Don't Confuse These!
Word
Meaning
Usage
Example
どう
How / What about
どう + Verb/Adj
どう思う？
どんな
What kind of
どんな + Noun
どんな本？
どうやって
By what means
どうやって + Verb
どうやって行く？
⚠️ JLPT Trap: If the sentence has a noun right after, use どんな. If it's a verb or a general state, use どう. For method, use どうやって.
Common Mistakes
✕ どう本ですか
✓ どんな本ですか / この本はどうですか (どう cannot directly modify a noun; use どんな or restructure)
✕ どんな思いますか
✓ どう思いますか (どんな needs a noun; 思う is a verb, so どう is correct)
JLPT N5 Practice Questions
Score: 0 / 3
1. "How was your day?" (choose correct word)
2. "What kind of person is he?" (choose correct word)
3. "How do you go to school?" (by what means)
⚠️ Mixing up どう, どんな, and どうやって is a common N5 trap that can cost you easy points.
This lesson is taught by Anup Sensei, an experienced Japanese language instructor at Gogaku Language & Training Center in Pokhara. He has studied and worked in Japan and specializes in practical JLPT preparation and real-life communication skills.
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