GrammarJLPT N5
→ which
Which (+ Noun)
JLPT N5Pre-noun adjectival (rentaishi)Neutral
どの is a pre-noun adjectival (連体詞) meaning "which" and is used to ask someone to identify or select one item from a group of three or more. It always appears directly before a noun — you cannot use どの by itself at the end of a sentence the way you can use どれ ("which one"). どの belongs to the こそあど (ko-so-a-do) system of demonstratives: この (this), その (that, near the listener), あの (that, over there), and どの (which). While どれ is a pronoun that stands alone to mean "which one," どの must modify a noun, making it essential whenever you want to specify what category of thing you are asking about. It is used across all registers — casual, neutral, and formal — and is one of the most fundamental question words in Japanese.
Examples
Example #1
どの本が好きですか。
Here どの is placed directly before the noun 本 (book) to ask the listener to identify one specific book from a group. The particle が marks the book as the subject of the adjective 好き (like). This is the most typical pattern for どの: it narrows the question down to a particular noun category, unlike どれ, which would simply ask "which one" without naming the category.Which book do you like?
Structures
- General pattern
- どの + Noun
Common mistakes
The most common mistake is using どの without a noun after it, such as saying 「どのが好きですか」 instead of 「どの本が好きですか」 or 「どれが好きですか」. Remember that どの must always be followed by a noun; if you want to say "which one" without naming the noun, use どれ instead. Another frequent error is confusing どの with どんな (what kind of). While どの asks someone to pick a specific item ("which book?"), どんな asks about the nature or type ("what kind of book?"). Learners also sometimes use どの when there are only two choices; in that case, どちらの + noun is more appropriate and natural in Japanese.
Related
どれこのそのあのどんなどちら