What kind of / What sort of – Asking about characteristics
JLPT N5 文法 どんな 解説
⏱️ Study time: 5–7 minutes
Master どんな in 5–7 minutes. Learn how to ask "what kind of" or "what sort of" — essential for describing people, places, and things in everyday Japanese conversation.
🚀 Quick JLPT N5 Warm-up Quiz
Q1: "What kind of music do you like?" Which is correct? A. どんな音楽が好きですか B. どう音楽が好きですか
Answer: A (どんな asks "what kind of"; どう asks "how" or "in what way")
Quick Summary
Grammar Point どんな
Meaning What kind of / What sort of
Usage どんな + Noun
Example どんな音楽が好きですか。どんなおんがくがすきですか。Donna ongaku ga suki desu ka. What kind of music do you like?
💡 Switch to Hiragana only or Rōmaji if you're just starting out.
What is どんな?
どんな is a question word meaning “what kind of” or “what sort of”. It always comes before a noun, and it asks about the type, characteristics, or nature of that noun.
Pattern: どんな + Noun
Example: どんな食べ物が好き？ (What kind of food do you like?)
It is used to inquire about qualities, not identity. For identity, use どの (which one) or 何の (what kind of – more specific category).
会話で非常によく使う質問です。かいわでひじょうによくつかうしつもんです。Kaiwa de hijō ni yoku tsukau shitsumon desu.
How to Pronounce
どんな： do n na (with a slight glottal stop on the "n")
どんな本 / どんな人 / どんな色
Examples & Mini Dialogue
どんな音楽が好きですか。どんなおんがくがすきですか。Donna ongaku ga suki desu ka. What kind of music do you like? (どんな + noun)
Typical answer: ロックが好きです (I like rock).
どんな人がタイプですか。どんなひとがタイプですか。Donna hito ga taipu desu ka. What kind of person is your type? (asking about personality/looks)
Answer with adjectives: 優しい人 (a kind person).
今日はどんな気分ですか。きょうはどんなきぶんですか。Kyō wa donna kibun desu ka. How do you feel today? (どんな + abstract noun)
Literally "what kind of feeling/mood".
🗣️ Mini Dialogue
A: 週末はどんなことをしましたか。しゅうまつはどんなことをしましたか。Shūmatsu wa donna koto o shimashita ka.
B: 映画を見ました。えいがをみました。Eiga o mimashita.
When to Use in Real Japan
Getting to know someone: どんな趣味があるの？
Asking about preferences: どんな味が好き？
Describing situations: どんな天気だった？
⚡ どんな vs どう vs どの: Don't Confuse These!
These three question words look similar but have distinct roles.
Word
Meaning
Usage
Example
どんな
What kind of
どんな + Noun
どんな本？
どう
How / in what way
どう + Verb
どう思う？
どの
Which (out of a set)
どの + Noun
どの本？
⚠️ JLPT Trap: If you need to ask about characteristics, use どんな. If you're choosing from a visible or known set, use どの. And if you want to know the method or state, use どう.
Common Mistakes
✕ どう本が好きですか
✓ どんな本が好きですか (Use どんな before a noun to ask "what kind of")
✕ どんなですか
✓ どんな感じですか / どうですか (どんな must be followed by a noun, not used alone)
JLPT N5 Practice Questions
Score: 0 / 3
1. "What kind of movies do you watch?"
2. "What kind of person is he?"
3. "What kind of weather did you have?"
⚠️ Mixing up どんな, どう, and どの is one of the most common N5 question‑word mistakes.
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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