Meaning & Usage
だれ (dare) means "who". Use it to ask about the identity of a person — who someone is, who did something, or who something belongs to.
One hard rule: だれ applies to people only. For things, use なに (nani, "what"); for places, どこ (doko, "where"). Asking about an animal or object with だれ is a clear grammatical error — unlike English, where "who" can informally refer to pets, Japanese draws a strict line.
On formality: だれ is neutral. It fits everyday conversation and polite です／ます speech alike. With superiors, customers, or elders, switch to the honorific どなた (donata) — same meaning, higher register. Using だれ in the wrong context can come across as blunt or rude.
Japanese question words don't front-shift the way English ones do. In English you say "Who is that?" and the question word leads. In Japanese, だれ stays in the position that matches its grammatical role, and the sentence-final particle か (ka) marks the whole thing as a question:
あの人はだれですか。(Ano hito wa dare desu ka. — "Who is that person?")
No rearranging required. Swap in the question word, add か at the end, and you're done. This pattern holds for every Japanese question word.
Structure & Formation
だれ is a pronoun, so it takes whichever particle fits its role in the sentence. The most common patterns:
| Pattern | Meaning | Example (Japanese) |
|---|---|---|
| だれ + が | Who (subject/doer) | だれがきましたか。 |
| だれ + の | Whose | だれのほんですか。 |
| だれ + に | To/from whom | だれにいいましたか。 |
| だれ + と | With whom | だれとはなしましたか。 |
| だれ + を | Whom (object) | だれをよびましたか。 |
だれが (subject) and だれの (possession) are the two patterns tested most often at JLPT N5 and heard most often in natural speech. When だれ is the subject of a sentence, it takes が, not は — question words carry inherently new, unknown information, and が is the particle that marks new or focused information. (For why だれは almost never works as a question, see Common Mistakes below.)
Example Sentences
Basic Identification Questions
あの人はだれですか。
Ano hito wa dare desu ka.
Who is that person?
だれですか。
Dare desu ka.
Who is it? (e.g., responding to a knock at the door)
この写真の女の人はだれですか。
Kono shashin no onna no hito wa dare desu ka.
Who is the woman in this photo?
Asking About the Subject (だれが)
だれがこれを作りましたか。
Dare ga kore wo tsukurimashita ka.
Who made this?
だれが先生ですか。
Dare ga sensei desu ka.
Who is the teacher?
だれが電話しましたか。
Dare ga denwa shimashita ka.
Who called?
Asking About Possession (だれの)
これはだれの本ですか。
Kore wa dare no hon desu ka.
Whose book is this?
あのかばんはだれのですか。
Ano kaban wa dare no desu ka.
Whose bag is that?
Asking About Relationships and Interactions
だれと映画を見ましたか。
Dare to eiga wo mimashita ka.
Who did you watch the movie with?
だれにこのことを話しましたか。
Dare ni kono koto wo hanashimashita ka.
Who did you tell this to?
Negative and Indefinite Forms
だれもいません。
Dare mo imasen.
Nobody is here.
だれかがドアをノックしました。
Dare ka ga doa wo nokku shimashita.
Someone knocked on the door.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Moving だれ to the Front of the Sentence
❌ だれはあの人ですか。(Dare wa ano hito desu ka.)
✅ あの人はだれですか。(Ano hito wa dare desu ka.)
English speakers instinctively lead with the question word. In Japanese, だれ stays in the slot that corresponds to the unknown. Here, you're asking what あの人 equals — the answer slot is at the end of the sentence, so だれ belongs there. Pulling it to the topic position with は produces an awkward, unnatural sentence.
Mistake 2: Using だれ Instead of どなた in Formal Situations
❌ お客さまはだれですか。(Okyakusama wa dare desu ka.) — said to a guest ✅ お客さまはどなたですか。(Okyakusama wa donata desu ka.)
In business, service, or formal settings, だれ sounds blunt — possibly rude. Switch to どなた whenever you're speaking to or about someone deserving respect. This isn't an optional upgrade in politeness; it's expected.
Mistake 3: Using は Instead of が When だれ Is the Subject
❌ だれはきましたか。(Dare wa kimashita ka.)
✅ だれがきましたか。(Dare ga kimashita ka.)
When だれ is the doer of an action, it takes が, not は. Question words represent unknown, new information — and が is the particle for new or focused information in Japanese. Using は here sounds unnatural to any native speaker.
Mistake 4: Confusing だれも (Nobody) with だれか (Somebody)
❌ だれもきました。(Dare mo kimashita.) — intending to say "somebody came" ✅ だれかがきました。(Dare ka ga kimashita.)
だれか means "someone." だれも with a negative verb means "nobody." With a positive verb, the same form shifts to mean "everyone" — a reliable source of confusion. Always check whether the verb that follows is affirmative or negative.
Mistake 5: Using だれ for Animals or Things
❌ あのねこはだれですか。(Ano neko wa dare desu ka.) — asking about a cat ✅ あのねこはなんというねこですか。(Ano neko wa nan to iu neko desu ka.)
だれ is for people, full stop. Use なに or なん for things, animals, and abstractions. English speakers sometimes use "who" for pets, but Japanese draws a strict line.
Cultural Notes
In casual conversation, a bare 「だれ？」 (Dare?) works as a quick question — when you don't recognize a name someone mentions, or when you hear a voice at the door. Keep it for informal settings only.
Japanese encodes social hierarchy even in its question words. The fact that "who" has a respectful version (どなた) alongside the neutral one (だれ) is a small window into how deeply register runs through the language. Even asking who someone is requires you to consider your relationship with the people involved.
In classical literature and traditional poetry, you may come across たれ (tare) — an archaic reading of the same character 誰. It doesn't appear in modern speech or writing, but it's worth recognizing if you read haiku or older texts.
Regional dialects use slightly different constructions around だれ. Kansai speakers (Osaka, Kyoto) may phrase things differently in informal speech. Standard だれ, though, is understood everywhere in Japan.
Related Grammar Points
- どこ — Where (Location Question Word) (Grammar N5)
- なに / なん — What (Japanese Interrogative Pronoun) (Grammar N5)
- いくつ — How Many / How Old (Grammar N5)
- なぜ／どうして — How to Ask 'Why' in Japanese (Grammar N5)
- いつ — When: Complete Guide to Asking About Time in Japanese (Grammar N5)
- か — Question Marker (Grammar N5)
JLPT Tips
At N5, だれ is tested alongside なに, どこ, and いつ. Grammar questions will check whether you can pick the right question word for the context and whether you pair だれ with the correct particle — most often だれが and だれの.
For blank-fill questions, the shortcut is simple: people → だれ, things → なに, places → どこ, times → いつ. The exam relies on this distinction repeatedly.
Reading comprehension questions like 「この文章でだれが〜しましたか」 ("In this passage, who did ~?") are standard N5 format. Practice scanning short passages for the person performing an action — it's one of the most tested reading skills at this level.
Vocabulary questions often target だれか (someone) and だれも (nobody / everyone). These compound forms are tested precisely because they show whether you understand how particles shift a question word's meaning.
One habit worth building: whenever you see だれ in a sentence, immediately look at the particle after it. That particle names the grammatical role of the person being asked about. だれ itself never moves — the particle does all the work.