Hello there.
I have a question regarding the word "doko" (where?)
I have been playing a japanese game to improve my japanese listening skills and I noticed that when the main character asks "where is wan chai?" he sais "wan chai wa doche des ka?"
I was wondering why he sais "doche" instead of "doko". Is there much of a difference between the two?
arigato!
a question regarding "doko" (where)

n_soufiani
July 17, 2008

Sayaka-Matsuura
July 17, 2008
Konnichiwa Soufiani!
O genki desu ka?
Here's a little lesson on *DOKO* and *DOCHI*::idea:
*Doko* asks "Where~?" while *Dochi*, the short version of *Dochira*, means "Which~?"
So,
" -- wa doko desuka?" "Where is -- ?"
" -- wa dochira desuka?" "Which way is -- ?"
However, the tricky thing is, *dochira desuka?* is also a formal version of *doko desu ka?* both having the SAME meaning "Where is ~" :shock:

n_soufiani
July 18, 2008
Thank you for replying.
So "doche" is which?
I thought "dono" was which. Im guessing that "doche" is the more polite way of saying "dono"?

Sayaka-Matsuura
July 20, 2008
Konnichiwa!
Actually the polite way to say DOCHI, is DOCHIRA.
When asking the question "which one?" and there are TWO options, DOCHIRA is used.
DONO means "which" as well, but refers to more than two options.
So, let's say a boy won the prize, and his friend asks "which one did you win?" out of the many prizes that are displayed, the friend would say *Dono sho o totano? *. If there were only TWO prizes, he would ask *Dochi or Dochira no sho o totano?*
Or, when you want to ask WHICH station to get off "At what station do I get off?", it's *DONO eki de orirunodesuka*, in Japanese.
To ask "where is~?", you cannot use DONO to replace DOKO. So, *DONO desuka? *instead of *DOKO desuka *is incorrect. :shock: