どんなdonna“what kind of”

どんな means what kind of or what is ~ like. It is a JLPT N5 question word that always sits directly in front of a noun and asks the listener to describe that noun: its type, its style, or its character.

Ask 「どんな人ですか。」 and nobody answers with a name. They answer with a description: 「やさしい人です。」 That is the whole job of どんな. It opens the door to adjectives, so it is one of the first question words that lets you have a real conversation instead of a yes-or-no exchange.

どんな + noun asks “what is it like?” — the answer is almost always an adjective + the same noun.

What does どんな mean?

どんな asks about the kind or quality of something you have not seen, met, or tried yet. Depending on the sentence, natural English versions are:

• what kind of ~ (どんな音楽 — what kind of music)
• what ~ is like (どんな人 — what someone is like)
• what sort of ~ (どんな仕事 — what sort of job)

どんな belongs to the こ・そ・あ・ど family of words: こんな (this kind of), そんな (that kind of), あんな (that kind of, over there / we both know), and どんな (what kind of). If someone asks you 「どんなかばんですか。」, you can point and answer 「こんなかばんです。」 — “a bag like this one.”

How to form どんな

The rule is short: どんな is not a noun and cannot stand alone. It works like a な-adjective that has already been attached to the noun, so you place the noun right after it with nothing in between. No の, no な.

Common combinations you will meet in N5 textbooks:

• どんな人 — what kind of person
• どんな食べ物 — what kind of food
• どんな所 — what kind of place
• どんな本 — what kind of book

After the noun, the sentence continues normally. If the noun is the thing being described, end with ですか (どんな町ですか). If it is the object of a verb, add を (どんな本を読みますか). If it goes with 好き or ほしい, add が (どんな音楽が好きですか).

When is どんな used?

You use どんな whenever you want a description rather than a fact:

• Getting to know someone: asking about hobbies, favourite food, music, or jobs.
• Asking about people you haven’t met: 「新しい先生はどんな人ですか。」
• Asking about places: 「大阪はどんな町ですか。」 — a classic question to a friend who just visited.
• Shopping: a clerk might ask what kind of item you want, and you will ask what kinds they have.

Register: どんな itself is neutral. It works in polite speech (どんな人ですか) and casual speech (どんな人？). In very formal settings, like shops, hotels, or business emails, you will hear どのような instead. 「どのようなご用件ですか。」 (“What can I help you with?”) is the same question in a much more polite form. At N5 you only need to recognise it.

どんな example sentences

Look at the answers in examples 2 and 5. They repeat the noun from the question (人, 町) and put adjectives in front of it. That echo — どんな町？ → 静かな町 — is the most natural way to reply.

Nuance of どんな

どんな is open-ended. It tells the listener, “describe it however you like.” The answer can be a category (ロックです), a quality (静かな町です), or a short explanation. That openness is why it feels friendly in conversation: you are inviting the other person to talk.

Compare three ways to ask about a new teacher:

• 「新しい先生はだれですか。」 — Who is the new teacher? (you want a name)
• 「新しい先生はどんな人ですか。」 — What is the new teacher like? (you want a description)
• 「新しい先生はどうですか。」 — How is the new teacher? (you want an opinion or evaluation)

どんな and どう are close, but どう asks for your impression (“good? strict?”), while どんな asks for a description of the thing itself.

💡 Answer tip: When someone asks you a どんな question, reuse their noun. 「どんな食べ物が好きですか。」 → 「甘い食べ物が好きです。」 It sounds natural and saves you from searching for new words.

どんな vs 何の

Both どんな and 何の (なんの) can be translated “what kind of,” which is why learners mix them up. The difference is what the answer looks like.

A quick test: if the answer will be “noun + の + noun” (日本語の本, 数学の先生), the question is 何の. If the answer will be “adjective + noun” (おもしろい本, やさしい先生), the question is どんな.

Common mistakes with どんな

Is どんな on the JLPT?

In listening questions, the adjectives in the answer usually decide the correct picture: 「どんなかばんですか。」「黒くて、小さいかばんです。」 Listen for colour, size, and shape words.

Practice questions for どんな

Learning path for どんな

Related grammar to review next

• はどうですか — the question word most often confused with どんな; どう asks “how is it?” while どんな asks “what is it like?”
• な-adjectives — half of all どんな answers use them (静かな町, 有名な人), and どんな itself attaches to nouns the same way.
• い-adjectives — the other half of the answers (おもしろい本, 小さいかばん).
• か (question particle) — every polite どんな question ends in か, and it shows how question words and か work together.
• そんなに — the N4 step from the same こ・そ・あ・ど family.

Learn どんな with Hane

Hane drills どんな questions next to the adjective answers that go with them, so you practise asking and replying together. Start with Hane.