German Question Words Exercises

What's included here

Practise the most common German question words with these free A1 exercises. You'll learn when to use wer, was, wann, wo, wohin, woher, warum and wie, and how to form questions about everyday situations.

Wo wohnst du? Was machst du? Wann hast du Zeit?

A few simple question words can get you surprisingly far in German. You can use them to get to know someone, find your way around a new city or ask for information.

Let's practise choosing the right question word and putting it in the right place.

Grammar Recap: German Question Words

German question words are also called W-Fragen because most of them begin with W.

Here are the most useful ones to know at A1:

Question word	Meaning	Example
wer	who	Wer ist das?
was	what	Was machst du?
wann	when	Wann kommst du?
wo	where	Wo wohnst du?
wohin	where to	Wohin gehst du?
woher	where from	Woher kommst du?
warum	why	Warum lernst du Deutsch?
wie	how	Wie heißt du?

Wo, wohin or woher?

These three question words are easy to confuse because they all ask about places.

Wo? asks about a location.
Wohin? asks about a destination.
Woher? asks about an origin.

Wo wohnst du?

Where do you live?

Wohin gehst du?

Where are you going?

Woher kommst du?

Where are you from?

Useful expressions with wie

Wie also combines with other words to ask more specific questions.

Expression	Meaning
wie alt	how old
wie viel	how much
wie viele	how many
wie lange	how long
wie oft	how often

Wie viel kostet das Ticket?

How much does the ticket cost?

Wie viele Geschwister hast du?

How many siblings do you have?

Word order in German questions

Most German questions with a question word follow this structure:

Question word + conjugated verb + subject + rest of the sentence

Wann kommst du nach Berlin?

When are you coming to Berlin?

Warum lernst du Deutsch?

Why are you learning German?

Notice that the conjugated verb comes directly after the question word.

An important exception is when wer is the subject of the sentence:

Wer kommt heute?

Who's coming today?

Here, wer is already the subject, so you don't need another one.

Exercise 1: Choose the Question Word

Let's start with the basics.

Read the answer after each question, then choose the question word that makes sense.

1. heißt du? – Ich heiße Anna.

2. wohnst du? – In Hamburg.

3. ist das? – Das ist mein Bruder.

4. beginnt der Film? – Um acht Uhr.

5. trinkst du? – Einen Kaffee.

6. kommst du? – Aus Österreich.

7. lernst du Deutsch? – Weil ich in Berlin arbeiten möchte.

8. gehst du? – Zum Supermarkt.

Exercise 2: Wo, Wohin or Woher?

Now let's focus on three question words that all have something to do with places.

Choose the correct word based on whether the question asks about a location, destination or origin.

1. fährst du morgen? – Nach München.

2. ist mein Handy? – Auf dem Tisch.

3. kommt deine Freundin? – Aus Spanien.

4. arbeitet dein Vater? – In einem Krankenhaus.

5. gehst du nach der Schule? – Nach Hause.

6. kommt dieser Käse? – Aus Frankreich.

7. ist die nächste Apotheke? – Neben dem Bahnhof.

8. fliegt ihr im Sommer? – Nach Italien.

Exercise 3: Questions with Wie

Wie appears in several useful everyday expressions.

Choose the correct expression to complete each question.

1. bist du? – Ich bin 25 Jahre alt.

2. kostet der Kaffee? – Drei Euro.

3. Geschwister hast du? – Zwei.

4. dauert der Film? – Zwei Stunden.

5. gehst du ins Fitnessstudio? – Dreimal pro Woche.

6. Wasser möchtest du? – Ein Glas, bitte.

7. Tage bleibst du in Berlin? – Fünf Tage.

8. lernst du schon Deutsch? – Seit sechs Monaten.

Exercise 4: Complete the Questions

This time, type the missing question word yourself.

Use the answer after each question to work out what information is being requested.

hast du Geburtstag? – Im November.

ist das? – Das ist meine Nachbarin.

bist du müde? – Weil ich schlecht geschlafen habe.

kommst du? – Aus London.

möchtest du essen? – Eine Pizza.

fährst du am Wochenende? – Nach Köln.

heißt dein Hund? – Bruno.

ist der Bahnhof? – Dort links.

Sprachen sprichst du? – Drei.

10.

kostet das Buch? – Zwölf Euro.

Exercise 5: Put the Question in Order

Put the words in the correct order to form a German question. Remember that the conjugated verb usually comes directly after the question word.

Where do you live?

The End

You've practised choosing German question words, distinguishing wo, wohin and woher, and building complete questions.

Remember the basic word order: question word + conjugated verb + subject. Once this becomes familiar, asking questions in German gets much easier.

For more practice, explore our other German exercises, or start our free German A1 course.

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German Question Words Exercises (A1) | Free A1 German Exercises