"どれですか？"
Translation:Which is it?
63 Comments
これ - this thing
それ - that thing
どれ - which thing?
です - to be
か - sentence ending particle for questions
どれですか - which thing is it?
I don't think you could. を is normally used to denote the object of an action, but です "to be" doesn't really have an object in that sense. But you could add は for emphasis.
119
I agree with you that です doesn't have a direct object, and thus doesn't take the particle を, but 「どれはですか」sounds very strange to me.
I think this is because です requires an object (not direct) to connect to the topic. When you use は, you denote どれ as the topic, but no longer have an object. It sounds like "as for which, is"
yes and no
no you cant just say どれはですか？
but yes you can say どれは何ですか？
日本語は難しいと思います。でも、楽しいと思います！！
When I use wa and when I use wo? And also whitch japanese keyboard is better? I download one and it not appears as an option as the hebrew appeared on my last cellphone. Thanks. And also why is not right translate as whitch one?
です is a linking verb. Linking verbs do not take direct objects, and therefore would not take the direct object marker を. Only action verbs can take direct objects.
In addition, です is NOT a verb and does not function like one, even though it is classified as a copula. It functions as something like a politeness indicator, really.
どれ？ どれだい？ どれですか？ - polite.
Please correct me if I'm wrong ><
- 119
I would argue that です does not simply function as a politeness indicator. It definitely has a grammatical function, which is similar to the English copula "is"/"am", in my opinion.
It doesn't really function as a regular verb either, at least not as most verbs would in Japanese, but it is similar. Namely, it can be conjugated to show tense です->でした and it always goes at the end of the sentence.
So 「これは何でしたか」means "what was this?" like idk some animal pass very fast by you. By the way how do I use exclamation in japanese? Just add these marks (!?) at the end or this sound too strange?
これ something near to the speaker それ something near to the listener あれ something "far" away from both
I'm sorry, あれ = that (something that is far from the speaker and the listener), (it can also be used to refer to a new event im a conversation, if want to refer to the same event that you were talking about, you must use それ) そら can also be used as "that" but to indicate something far from the speaker and next to the listener. これ means "this".
A - Are (that thing over there)
S - Sore (that thing)
K - Kore (this thing)
D - Dore (which thing)
The danger in their translation is there must be at least three objects for this to work. This irritates me, because they didn't accept, "Which of these is it?' "Which one" is something an English speaker is more likely to say when referring to two objects. For two objects, the correct phrasing is "Docchi desu ka?"
Yeah I came here to say the same thing. "Which one" was marked wrong, but it's what I (and I'm sure most others) would say
Dore and Dare are both words for which if memory serves me right, is that correct?
- 119
どちらさん for "which person", unless you're being extremely weirdly nice to objects ;)
a good way im remembering it is by doing this.
A - are - that thing over there S - sore - that thing K - kore - this thing and D is seperare for Dore meaning which thing. by doing the abbreviation it helped me realize the distance for each on in a way atleast i can memorize since its just ASK and the first is the furthest away (Are) its funny how the abbreviation kinda matches the subject too since you are using these to ask for things. pls correct me if anything is wrong im a recent learner myself.
Yes, in real life English you can use either one.
But there are reasons to use one instead of the other.
Which one? (To choose from what you know): The woman has two apples, and I am asking which one you want.
Which one is it? (To learn what you do not know): They have invited us to see their tiger fish. You see two fish, so you ask me which one is it.
I do not know if these two questions require different words in Japanese.
Shouldn't this be translated as 'which is it?' as in English 'which' is a pronoun like DORE. The 'which' in 'which one? ' is an adjective like DONO.
- 119
That's a good point. I would agree with you that "which is it" is the better translation.
However, the only way to translate "which one" into Japanese is to use どれ, because it's a bit of a context-dependent exception in English. You might be able to get away with どのひとつですか, but that sounds really strange to me.
In other cases, like "which apple" or "which fish", you're absolutely correct and どの would be used. (If you fiddle around with the word order, you can also still use どれ in those situations though.)
- 119
That's an interesting way to think about it. But it seems to me like you're essentially just changing the verb, and hence whether or not it's natural to omit the verb in English.
In your first example, you said yourself "which one" means "which one do you want". Likewise in Japanese, the verb would change but "which one" remains as どれ.
- 119
This has already been discussed a few times on this page. Essentially, it can also be "which one is it" depending on the context.
- 127
Doesn't どれですか？ also translate to Which one as well as Which is it, as i got it wrong for using Which one?
Should “Which (one) is that?” be accepted as a possible option? Or does “that” imply anything absent from the Japanese sentence?
- 119
Both can be appropriate translations of どれですか, depending on the situation.
- 119
It should; in practical speaking situations, 「どれ？」(with a questioning tone) will be understood, though it sounds very informal.
Duo probably doesn't want to accept it because 1) in my experinence, Duo ignores punctuation (like question marks, thus implicitly ignores tone), 2) it's a feedback-based learning system so they want you to show that you understand the role of ですか , and/or 3) they're teaching you, and thus only recognizing, formal language as the correct answer.
How to remember: dore = doraemon = asks nobita, "WHICH gadget do you need this time?"
Isn't "which one" and "which is it" the same? I was asked to translate 「どれがですか」 and I typed in "Which one" but got it wrong saying that its "which is it" ...
Desu means "to be". This, in most languages, is the most basic verb. Its conjugates are almost always "is" and "are" (he is, she is, they are, it is)
Here in this sentence "Which is it", "is" is the desu
