Difference between どう and どんな -japanese grammar-

When you want to ask your friend what kind of music they like or how they feel about music, how can you ask them?

You can use どう or どんな, but what’s difference between them?

In this case, I will teach you how to use どう and どんな.

If you want to know other question words, please read this article.

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どんな

How to use どんな

どんな＋noun

There are two situations to use どんな.

Let’s see the examples.

What kind of

If you want to ask your friends what kind of music they like, you could use どんな＋noun.

In this case, your friend would answer “I like pop” or “I like classic music” and so on.

In Japanese, I would say「ポップがすきです。」or 「クラシックがすきです。」 and so on.

manner

If you want to ask a characteristic or customary mode of acting, You could use どんな＋noun.

In this case, you want to ask about megane sensei’s personality.

Therefore, you would answer “he is kind” or “he is handsome” and so on.

In Japanese, I would say 「しんせつな　せんせいです。」or 「ハンサムな　せんせいです。」 and so on.

We often use adjectives to answer these kinds of questions, so please read this article as well.

Learning Japanese grammar-adjectives conjugation

どう

How to use どう.

どう＋ですか/でしたか

どんな asks what kind of noun it is, but どう is like more “how”.

Conclusion

どんな＋noun

If you want to ask your friends what kind of music they like, you could use どんな＋noun.

If you want to ask a characteristic or customary mode of acting, You could use どんな＋noun.

どう＋ですか/でしたか

どんな asks what kind of noun it is, but どう is like more “how”.

Exercise

①　とうきょうは（　）まちですか。

②　スミスさんは（　）ひとですか。

③　がっこうは（　）ですか。

④　コンサートは（　）でしたか。

⑤　（　）スポーツがすきですか？

Answer

①　とうきょうは（どんな）まちですか。

②　スミスさんは（どんな）ひとですか。

③　がっこうは（どう）ですか。

④　コンサートは（どう）でしたか。

⑤　（どんな）スポーツがすきですか？

Answer these questions

①　にほんごの　べんきょうは　どうですか。

②　どんな　たべものが　すきですか。

③　どんな　ほんが　すきですか。

④　にほんの　あにめは　どうですか。

⑤　せんしゅうの　にちようび　どこへ　いきましたか。　どうでしたか。

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