"ここはどこですか？"
Translation:Where is this place?
67 Comments
It's basically "Where is here" ? As in you're lost and don't know where you are.
Yeah, this one required a bit of inference to go from what's literally asked to what is meant.
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Remember that Japanese people tend to avoid using 私 if they can and using ここ does that quite neatly. ここ means "this place (near the speaker)", in other words the general area you are in.
To me, 私はどこですか actually sounds more literal, like "where is me?" which you might say if you lost track of your physical body or if you looked in a mirror and couldn't see yourself.
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I agree with you m.shazly, "where are we?" should be marked as a valid answer. It is much more natural than saying "where is this place?"! Though both are correct.
That might actually work. I think I've heard ぼくたちはどこですか(boku tachi wa doko desu ka) in an anime before.
I think if you said ここはどこですか to a Japanese person, they might ask you if you are lost.
"Where is here?" is like saying "What is this place?". So it is like WHERE AM I?
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I would argue that "where am I" and "what is this place" have distinctly different usages in English. For a learning exercise too, allowing "what" as a translation of どこ seems quite confusion-inducing, so that's probably why Duo doesn't allow it.
Yeah. That is why English is not uncommon for this language. Just remember that their culture is different than ours. So when learning a new language, put aside what sounds better or fits better. And then you'll start thinking like a native person.
Yeah this one tripped me up too, its just how they say it in Japanese like Adrian mentioned.
Verdade, mas "onde estou?" é bem mais comum que "onde é aqui?" ou "aqui é onde?". Eu fiquei uma meia hora tentando entender isso em japonês, hehe.
Where is here is the litral translation I dont get how you get from WHERE IS HERE to WHERE AM I?(my question simple answer) is that in english someone who cant speak it well would say "Where is here" but fluent speakers understand that as "Where am I" they mean the same thing but where am I makes more sense
"Where is here" doesn't really make sense in English. You'd say "what is this place?" or "where am I?". Since doko means "where", "where am I?" makes the most sense.
That makes no sense. Could someone please break this down for me so I know where a word starts and where it ends and what each word means?
ここ - here は - topic particle どこ - where です - is か - question marker
So its "here where is?" but that sounds awkward when directly translated, hence "where am i?"
I'm new to Japanese as well, and here is what helped me:
Learn the particles and look for them first. I.e. [は] [が] [を] [に] etc. That will help break down the sentence so you know what part is the topic, subject, etc.
Then I look for counters, i.e. [時]
It also helps me, when you get to more advanced things, to look for verb endings to give you context. If you can recognize a verb and figure out what it is saying, it is easier to kind of figure out what nouns that you've learned would be present.
Here's an article on ko-so-a-do patterns in Japanese, might clear things up for you:
http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/lessons/beginning/demonstratives-the-ko-so-a-do-series/
So ここわどこですか in my mind is ここ (Here) わどこ (is where) ですか (?) So then I thought what would be the correct way to ask that. Which would be (Where am I?) :)
Also, the words break up like this in romaji. "Koko wa doko desu ka?" ここ わ どこ です か?
は is pronounced as 'ha' if it is located at the beginning of a word, and is pronounced as 'wa' if it is in the middle or the end of a word (used as particle). Yet, わ is pronounced as 'wa' everytime, and it is not a particle. So if you are saying "I am Hatori": わたし は はとり です or watashi WA Hatori desu.
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The pronunciation of は changes ONLY when it is being used as a particle (where it is pronounced wa), otherwise it's always ha no matter where in the word it is. Ex:
・ごはん (="rice") middle of the word, pronounced 'goHAn'
・母 (はは ="mother") start and end of the word, pronounced 'HAHA'
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It's「こんにちは」(mind the extra ‘n’) and it literally means “as for today…(it's good)”.「は」here still represents the topic particle, this is why it's pronounced /wa/.
So this is what I say when I wake up after a night of hard-drinking?
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Last night I started watching the Netflix show "Re:Mind." On the first episode, the characters wake up in an unfamiliar room, and several of them ask simply, ”どこここ？” with the subtitles saying "Where are we?" Obviously it's informal, but I wonder if this phrasing would be more natural or commonly used in Japan?
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Yes, this phrasing is both more natural and more commonly used in Japan, though "ここどこ？" is more common still.
But you should realize that, in the situation you described, the characters seem to be talking out loud to themselves rather than specifically to another character (expressing their disorientation rather than asking someone for information), hence why the informal version is more common.
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Makes sense. I had heard ここどこ before but this was the first time I heard どこここ. Thanks.
If you were to ask a stranger on the street because you're lost, you should use the more formal phrasing most of the time. Like すみません、ここはどこですか。
Literally isn't it "Where is here?" Or "Where is this?" I wouldn't have known the context if it wasn't for the word choices they gave.
Yes, the literal translation is "Where is here?" but that obviously sounds awkward in English hence the "Where am I?" it means the same thing ^^
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When this confused me, I chose to translate it literally (Where is here) and take my knocks. Many comments below say this is a way to say "Where am I?" Could it not also be interpreted as "Where are we?" and "Where is this?"
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“Where are we?” yes. “Where is this?” I doubt it, mainly because “this” is, by definition, here, otherwise it would be “that”. The sentence rather has the meaning of “what/where is this place (that I'm in)?”.
To ask “where is this?” I guess you could ask「これはどこですか」, but again, why would you call it 「これ」if you don't know where it is?
Inferences and literal translations are different things. I expect to use the literal translations and have it as a side note for inferences.
Could you say "watashi wa doko desu ka?" That translates to where am i, doesnt it?
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Yes, I guess so, but remember that Japanese people tend to avoid using 私 if they can and using ここ does that quite neatly. ここ means "this place (near the speaker)", in other words the general area you are in.
To me, 私はどこですかactually sounds more literal, like "where is me?" which you might say if you lost track of your physical body or if you looked in a mirror and couldn't see yourself.
In general, this would sound weird to a native speaker. In my japanese class we learned about 3 or 4 phrases to politely ask a stranger, where you are, and how to get there from the current spot. Im guessing bc most ppl here may not have a huge vocab base they simplified this. The point will get across but youll sound like a 3 yr old
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I have to disagree. I'm not a native speaker myself, but in my experience this sounds completely normal, natural even, especially if one abruptly finds themselves somewhere unexpected.
In your Japanese class, are you the teacher? If you are, I'd genuinely like to know what other ways there are to say "where am I?" or ここはどこですか？Because, despite considering myself fairly fluent (having passed JLPT N2), I can't think of any that sound natural.
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Umm, no, those two sentences are not at all interchangeable.
ここは(not が)どこですか is an open question because the answer can be any location. But にわはあそこですか is a closed/confirmative question, because the answer is only either yes or no.
Wouldn't it be better to traslate: "Where am I?" Obviously explaining the literal meaning... But for the translation I think it would make more sense than "where is this place", using "here"! "Where is here?" ??!?!?!?
Ugh... So strange...
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"The place" is incorrect because ここ specifically refers "a place near the speaker". In English, that usually translates to "here" or "this place".
