JLPT N5 Kanji – Is “何” read “なん” or “なに”

Table of Contents

1. Rules for reading the kanji “何”
2. When it’s read as “なん”
3. When it’s read as “なに”
4. When both are acceptable
5.  Summary
6. Quiz
7. Similar Articles
8. Comments

Q: Are there any rules for when to read “何” as “なん” and when to read it as “なに”?

A: The reading of “何” is determined by the word that follows it—such as a particle（助詞じょし）, a noun（名詞めいし）, or an auxiliary verb（助じょ動詞どうし）—and there are clear patterns.
In this article, these rules are organized in an easy-to-understand way together with example sentences.

When it’s read as “なん”

[① When “ですか” is attached at the end]

[Example]
これは何なんですか。
What is this?

[② When particles “と” and “の” are attached at the end]

[Examples]
先生せんせいは何なんと言いっていましたか？
What was the teacher saying?

それは何なんの本ほんですか？
What book is that?

[③ When asking about a number or day of the week]

[Examples]
何回なんかい
How many times?

何本なんぼん
How many long objects?

何人なんにん
How many people?

何なん曜日ようび
What day of the week?

[④ When asking “Why?”]

[Example]
何なんで？ =why?
何なんでパーティーに来こなかったんですか？
Why didn’t you come to the party?

When it’s read as “なに”

[① When particles “が” “も” “を” are attached at the end]

[Examples]
スポーツは何なにが好すきですか。
What sports do you like?

スーパーで何なにを買かいましたか。
What did you buy at the supermarket?

朝あさごはんは何なにも食たべませんでした。
I didn’t eat anything for breakfast.

[② When asking about types]

[Examples]
何色なにいろ
What colour?

何なに線せん
What kind of line (of the train or the busses)?

[③ When asking “How/By what”]

[Examples]
何なにで＝By what
会社かいしゃまで何なにで来きていますか？
How are you getting to the office?

When both are acceptable

The meaning is the same, but the following tendency exists:

• In spoken language（カジュアル）＝ なん
• In written language or polite speech（フォーマル）＝ なに

[Example①]
「何か」= Something
Casual：なんか
Formal：なにか

何なんか食たべる？
Would you like something to eat?

何なにか召めし上あがりますか？
Is there anything you’d like to have?

[Example②]
「何も」= Nothing
Casual：なんも
Formal：なにも　

朝あさから何なんも食たべてないんだよね。
I haven’t eaten anything since morning.

朝あさから何なにも食たべていません。
I haven’t eaten anything since morning.

Summary

[When it’s read as “なん”]

• When “ですか” is attached at the end.
• When particles “と” and “の” are attached at the end.
• When asking about a number or day of the week.
• When asking “Why?”.

[When it’s read as “なに”]

• When particles “が” “も” “を” are attached at the end.
• When asking about a type.
• When asking about a method or means.

Quiz

Read the following sentence and choose the expression that fits the context from the options provided in the parentheses.

Click on the question to check the answer.

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