# Esperanto lesson 7: questions with ĉu and ki- words

Source: https://esperantopedia.org/learn/course/lesson-07/
Language: en
Updated: 2026-10-08

> Put ĉu before any sentence to ask a yes/no question. Learn kio, kiu, kie, kiam, kial, kiel and kiom, and how to answer with jes, ne and ĉar.

In this lesson you learn to ask questions. Put *ĉu* in front of a statement and it becomes a yes/no question – no change of word order, no "do" or "does". For everything else there are question words that all start with *ki-*: *kio* "what", *kiu* "who", *kie* "where", *kiam* "when", *kial* "why", *kiel* "how" and *kiom* "how much". You will also answer with *jes*, *ne* and *ĉar* "because".

## Dialogue

July. Tomo has arrived in the congress city and cannot find the venue. He sees a woman wearing a green star.

| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| **Tomo:** Pardonu, ĉu vi parolas Esperanton? Mi vidas vian verdan stelon. | Excuse me, do you speak Esperanto? I see your green star. |
| **Keiko:** Jes, kompreneble! Ĉu vi venas al la kongreso? | Yes, of course! Are you coming to the congress? |
| **Tomo:** Jes. Sed kio estas la adreso de la kongresejo? | Yes. But what's the address of the congress venue? |
| **Keiko:** Ne gravas, mi ankaŭ iras tien. Kiel vi nomiĝas? | Never mind, I'm going there too. What's your name? |
| **Tomo:** Mi nomiĝas Tomo. Kaj vi? | My name is Tomo. And you? |
| **Keiko:** Mi estas Keiko, el Japanio. | I'm Keiko, from Japan. |
| **Tomo:** Kiam vi alvenis? | When did you arrive? |
| **Keiko:** Hieraŭ. La flugo estis tre longa! Kaj de kie vi venas? | Yesterday. The flight was very long! And where do you come from? |
| **Tomo:** El Pollando. Kiom longe vi lernas Esperanton? | From Poland. How long have you been learning Esperanto? |
| **Keiko:** De dek jaroj. Kaj vi? | For ten years. And you? |
| **Tomo:** Nur de naŭ monatoj. | Only for nine months. |
| **Keiko:** Vi parolas tre bone! Kial vi lernas ĝin? | You speak very well! Why are you learning it? |
| **Tomo:** Ĉar mi ŝatas lingvojn… kaj ĉar mia amikino Ana estas ĉi tie. | Because I like languages… and because my friend Ana is here. |
| **Ana:** Tomo! Ĉu vere estas vi? | Tomo! Is it really you? |
| **Tomo:** Ana! Finfine! | Ana! At last! |
| **Keiko:** Ho, do ŝi estas la fama Ana! Kiu volas kafon? | Oh, so she's the famous Ana! Who wants coffee? |

*Kiom longe vi lernas…?* uses the present tense, because the learning is still going on. *De* + a period of time means "for" (and still continuing): *Mi lernas Esperanton de naŭ monatoj* – "I have been learning Esperanto for nine months".

## New words

| Esperanto | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| *ĉu* | (yes/no question word); whether | |
| *kio* | what | *kion* as object |
| *kiu* | who; which | *kiun* as object |
| *kie* | where | *de kie* "where from" |
| *kiam* | when | |
| *kial* | why | |
| *kiel* | how | *Kiel vi nomiĝas?* |
| *kiom* | how much, how many | *kiom longe* "how long" |
| *ĉar* | because | |
| *pardonu* | excuse me, sorry | from *pardoni* "to forgive" |
| *paroli* | to speak | Lesson 6; *paroli Esperanton* |
| *lerni* | to learn | |
| *nomiĝi* | to be called | *Mi nomiĝas Tomo.* |
| *alveni* | to arrive | *al* "to" + *veni* "to come" |
| *stelo* | star | *la verda stelo* "the green star" |
| *adreso* | address | |
| *kongreso* | congress | *kongresejo* "congress venue" |
| *flugo* | flight | |
| *jaro* | year | |
| *monato* | month | |
| *lingvo* | language | |
| *amikino* | (female) friend | *amiko* + *-in-* |
| *fama* | famous | |
| *nur* | only | |
| *tien* | there (to that place) | Lesson 9 |

## Grammar

### Yes/no questions with *ĉu*

To ask a yes/no question, put *ĉu* at the start of the sentence. Nothing else changes. The full rules are on the [questions and negation](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/questions-negation/) page.

| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| *Vi parolas Esperanton.* – You speak Esperanto. | *Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?* – Do you speak Esperanto? |
| *Ana estas ĉi tie.* – Ana is here. | *Ĉu Ana estas ĉi tie?* – Is Ana here? |
| *Vi alvenis hieraŭ.* – You arrived yesterday. | *Ĉu vi alvenis hieraŭ?* – Did you arrive yesterday? |

Answer with *jes* or *ne*, ideally with a short sentence: *Jes, mi parolas.* / *Ne, mi ne parolas.* To ask for confirmation, add *ĉu ne?* at the end: *Vi venos, ĉu ne?* – "You'll come, won't you?"

:::order Make it a question
? Do you speak Esperanto?
= Ĉu {vi} {parolas} {Esperanton}?
- Esperanto
? Did you arrive yesterday?
= Ĉu {vi} {alvenis} {hieraŭ}?
- alvenas
? Is the coffee tasty?
= Ĉu la kafo estas bongusta?
- kafon
:::

### Seven question words

All these words start with *ki-*. They belong to a larger family of 45 words, the [correlatives](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/correlatives/), which you will see as a full table in [Lesson 11](https://esperantopedia.org/learn/course/lesson-11/).

| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| *kio* | what (thing) | *Kio okazis?* – What happened? |
| *kiu* | who; which | *Kiu volas kafon?* – Who wants coffee? |
| *kie* | where | *Kie estas la kongresejo?* – Where is the congress venue? |
| *kiam* | when | *Kiam vi alvenis?* – When did you arrive? |
| *kial* | why | *Kial vi lernas Esperanton?* – Why are you learning Esperanto? |
| *kiel* | how | *Kiel vi fartas?* – How are you? |
| *kiom* | how much, how many | *Kiom kostas la kafo?* – How much is the coffee? |

To ask "how many" with a noun, add *da*: *Kiom da lingvoj vi parolas?* – "How many languages do you speak?" The noun after *da* never takes *-n*.

:::match Question words
kio = what
kiu = who
kie = where
kiam = when
kial = why
kiel = how
kiom = how much
:::

### Question words with *-n*

When the question word is the object, it takes *-n*, just like a noun: *kio* → *kion*, *kiu* → *kiun*.

| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| *Kion vi trinkas?* | What are you drinking? |
| *Kiun vi vidas?* | Whom do you see? |
| *Kiu vidas vin?* | Who sees you? |

:::write With or without -n?
? *___ vi trinkas?* "What are you drinking?"
= Kion
? *___ vidas vin?* "Who sees you?"
= Kiu
? *___ vi vidas?* "Whom do you see?"
= Kiun
? *___ okazis?* "What happened?"
= Kio
:::

### Answering *kial* with *ĉar*

*Kial?* asks for a reason, and *ĉar* gives it: *Kial vi lernas Esperanton? – Ĉar mi ŝatas lingvojn.* – "Why are you learning Esperanto? – Because I like languages."

## Practice

:::quiz Lesson 7 practice
? Turn into a question: *Vi parolas Esperanton.*
= Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton
? Which word means "where"?
- *kiam*
- *kie* *
- *kiu*
? Which word means "why"?
- *kial* *
- *kiel*
- *kiom*
? Translate: "When did you arrive?"
= Kiam {vi} {alvenis}
? Fill in: *___ vi nomiĝas?* ("What's your name?")
= Kiel
? What does *Kiom kostas la kafo?* ask about?
- the time
- the price *
- the place
? Translate: "Who wants coffee?"
= Kiu volas kafon
? Choose the best answer to *Kial vi lernas Esperanton?*
- *Ĉar mi ŝatas lingvojn.* *
- *Hieraŭ.*
- *En Japanio.*
? Translate: "What happened?"
= Kio okazis
:::

## Culture corner

Nobody knows exactly how many people speak Esperanto. Serious estimates range from about 60,000 (Svend Vendelbo Nielsen, 2017) to about 2 million (Sidney Culbert's surveys), and by March 2020 about 2.8 million people had started Duolingo's Esperanto courses. Tomo's trick also has a history: the green star became a sign of recognition between Esperanto speakers in the early 1890s. See [how many people speak Esperanto](https://esperantopedia.org/about/speakers/).

## Common questions

### Can I ask a question without *ĉu*?

In speech, rising intonation alone can make a question, as in Ana's *Vi kuiras?* in Lesson 4. In writing, *ĉu* makes the question clear, and it is the standard form.

### What is the difference between *kio* and *kiu*?

*Kio* asks about a thing in general: *Kio estas tio?* – "What is that?". *Kiu* asks about a person, or about one of several things: *Kiu libro?* – "Which book?".

### How do I answer a negative question?

Use a full sentence. For *Ĉu vi ne volas kafon?* – "Don't you want coffee?" – speakers understand *jes* and *ne* in different ways, so say *Jes, mi volas* or *Ne, mi ne volas*.

## Sources

- [Fundamento de Esperanto – grammar in English](https://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html)
- [PMEG: Ĉu-demandoj (yes/no questions)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/demandoj_respondoj/chu.html)
- [PMEG: Respondvortoj (answer words, negative questions)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/demandoj_respondoj/respondvortoj.html)
- [PMEG: Tabelvortoj – bazaj reguloj (ki- words)](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/tabelvortoj/bazaj_reguloj.html)
- [Libera Folio: "Nova takso: 60.000 parolas Esperanton" (2017)](https://www.liberafolio.org/2017/02/13/nova-takso-60-000-parolas-esperanton/)
- [Libera Folio: "Kie estas la Duolinganoj?" (2020)](https://www.liberafolio.org/2020/03/31/kie-estas-la-duolinganoj/)
- [Wikipedia: Esperanto symbols (the green star)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto_symbols)
- [Vikipedio: Verda stelo](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verda_stelo)