N5

Asking for Explanation with んですか

Ask for background, reasons, and situational explanation with んですか in a natural way.

Use んですか to ask for explanation or context.Understand the difference between a plain question and an explanatory question.Recognize common question patterns such as どうしたんですか.

Guided study

Core idea

んですか asks for explanation or background, not just a fact. It is especially natural when you notice something unusual or when the reason matters.

どうしたんですか。

What happened?

どうしたんですか asks what the situation is, not just one isolated fact.

Interactive word chips will appear once token metadata is added.

どうして遅れたんですか。

Why were you late?

んですか sounds like asking for the reason behind the lateness.

Interactive word chips will appear once token metadata is added.