Structure
Demonstrative, どの + Noun
Details
Part of Speech
Fixed Adjective
Word Type
Independent Word
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Standard
About どの
どの is classified as a 'pre-noun adjectival' in Japanese. These are a special type of word that do not conjugate, which means that they will always appear in the same form. どの comes from the same family of words as どれ and どこ, and is used for asking about 'which' thing someone will choose.
In these examples, we can see that どの may be used to ask a question, or it may also be used in a similar way to 'whatever', or 'whichever' in English.
Caution
どの is only used when there are 3 or more possible choices, and どっち（の）・どちら（の） will be used when there are only 2 possible choices.
-
赤か青、どっちがいい？Do you prefer red or blue?
-
どの色が好き？What color do you like?
In the first example, the speaker is asking specifically about 2 options 'red or blue', so どっち will be used. However, in the second example, since the answer could be any color, どの will be used instead.
Synonyms
Examples
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どの寿司屋がいいですか。
Which sushi restaurant is good?
どのレストランに行く？
Which restaurant will you go to?
どのブランドを選びますか。
Which brand will you choose?
どのパソコンが好きですか。
Which computer do you like?
どのお茶を飲みますか。
Which tea will you drink?
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Japanese wh-Questions
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どの vs. どれ
Japanese StackExchange
Offline
Genki I 2nd Edition
Page 63
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 13
みんなの日本語 I
Page 105 [CH 16]
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どの – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (1 in total)
LotBlind
Feels a bit confusing to say “done follows a noun” since it doesn’t have to come after anything.
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