Vocabulary
| Dore? | どれ？ | Which? |
| Dore to dore? | どれとどれ？ | Which things? (plural) |
| Nani? | 何？ | What? |
| Nani to nani? | 何と何？ | What things? (plural) |
Grammar
| Sentence Pattern 2B |
| Nani ga / + VERB-INFINITIVE + -tai desu ka?何が + VERB-INFINITIVE + たいですか？ | What would you like to + VERB? |
| Examples | |
| Nani ga tabetai desu ka?何が食べたいですか？ | What would you like to eat? |
| Nani ga nomitai desu ka?何が飲みたいですか？ | What would you like to drink? |
| Nani ga kaitai desu ka?何が買いたいですか？ | What would you like to buy? |
| Nani ga mitai desu ka?何が見たいですか？ | What would you like to see? |
| Dore ga tabetai desu ka?どれが食べたいですか？ | Which one would you like to eat? |
| Dore ga nomitai desu ka?どれが飲みたいですか？ | Which one would you like to drink? |
| Dore ga kaitai desu ka?どれが買いたいですか？ | Which one would you like to buy? |
| Dore ga mitai desu ka?どれが見たいですか？ | Which one would you like to see? |
The next sentence pattern is Sentence Pattern 2B with only a slight change. The literal translation of Sentence Pattern 2C is “What and what (or which and which) would you like to eat (drink, buy, etc.)?” This expression is rarely used in English but is often used in Japanese when the speaker wishes to ask if there is more than one thing that his listener would like to do or have. The number of items in the answer is not necessarily limited to two, even though the question here uses nani and dore twice only.
| Sentence Pattern 2C |
| Nani to nani ga / + VERB-INFINITIVE + -tai desu ka?何と何が + VERB-INFINITIVE + たいですか？ | What things would you like to + VERB? |
| Dore to dore ga / + VERB-INFINITIVE + -tai desu ka?どれとどれが + VERB-INFINITIVE + たいですか？ | Which things would you like to + VERB? |
| Example | |
| Nani to nani ga tabetai desu ka?何と何が食べたいですか？ | What things would you like to eat? |
| Nani to nani ga nomitai desu ka?何と何が飲みたいですか？ | What things would you like to drink? |
| Nani to nani ga kaitai desu ka?何と何が買いたいですか？ | What things would you like to buy? |
| Nani to nani ga mitai desu ka?何と何が見たいですか？ | What things would you like to see? |
| Dore to dore ga tabetai desu ka?どれとどれが食べたいですか? | Which things would you like to eat? |
| Dore to dore ga nomitai desu ka?どれとどれが飲みたいですか? | Which things would you like to drink? |
| Dore to dore ga kaitai desu ka?どれとどれが買いたいですか? | Which things would you like to buy? |
| Dore to dore ga mitai desu ka?どれとどれが見たいですか? | Which things would you like to see? |
Practice
1. Practice saying the following short dialogues aloud.
| Nani ga tabetai desu ka?何が食べたいですか？ | What would you like to eat? |
| O-sashimi ga tabetai desu.お刺身が食べたいです。 | I’d like to eat sashimi. |
| Nani ga nomitai desu ka?何が飲みたいですか？ | What would you like to drink? |
| Kōhii ga nomitai desu.コーヒーが飲みたいです。 | I’d like to drink coffee. |
| Nani ga kaitai desu ka?何が買いたいですか？ | What would you like to buy? |
| Kamera ga kaitai desu.カメラが買いたいです。 | I’d like to buy a camera. |
| Nani ga mitai desu ka?何が見たいですか？ | What would you like to see? |
| Kabuki ga mitai desu.歌舞伎が見たいです。 | I’d like to see a Kabuki play. |
(Pointing to an item on the menu or in the shop window)
| Dore ga tabetai desu ka?どれが食べたいですか？ | Which one would you like to eat? |
| Kore ga tabetai desu.これが食べたいです。 | I’d like to eat this. |
(Pointing to an item on the menu or in the shop window)
| Dore ga nomitai desu ka?どれが飲みたいですか？ | Which one would you like to drink? |
| Sore ga nomitai desu.それが飲みたいです。 | I’d like to drink that. |
(Pointing to an item located near the listener)
| Dore ga kaitai desu ka?どれが買いたいですか？ | Which one would you like to buy? |
| Are ga kaitai desu.あれが買いたいです。 | I’d like to buy that. |
(Pointing to an item away from both the speaker and the listener)
| Dore ga mitai desu ka?どれが見たいですか？ | Which one would you like to see? |
| Kore ga mitai desu.これが見たいです。 | I’d like to see this one. |
| (pointing to an advertisement in the newspaper) |
2. Practice saying the following dialogue aloud.
| Nani to nani ga tabetai desu ka?何と何が食べたいですか？ | What (and what) would you like to eat? |
| Biifusutēki to sarada ga tabetai desu.ビーフステーキとサラダが食べたいです。 | I’d like to eat beefsteak and salad. |
| Nani to nani ga kaitai desu ka?何と何が買いたいですか？ | What (and what) would you like to buy? |
| Kimono to kamera to terebi ga kaitai desu.着物とカメラとテレビが買いたいです。 | I’d like to buy a kimono, a camera, and a television set. |
| Nani to nani ga mitai desu ka?何と何が見たいですか？ | What (and what) would you like to see? |
| Kabuki to Bunraku ga mitai desu.歌舞伎と文楽が見たいです。 | I’d like to see a Kabuki play and a puppet play. |
3. Practice saying the following sentences aloud, substituting one word in each example.
| Dore to dore ga tabetai desu ka? | Which things would you like to eat? |
| nomitaikaitaimitai | drink?buy?see? |
