Russian Question Words

Russian question words are easy to learn –and essential for everyday conversation. Words like “what”, “where”, “when”, and “why” help you ask clear questions in Russian from the very beginning.

How to form questions in Russian

Forming questions in Russian is often simpler than in English. In many cases, a statement becomes a question just by changing your intonation. For example: Иван идёт в университет means “Ivan is going to university.” With a questioning tone, it becomes “Is Ivan going to university?”

To ask more specific questions – such as where he is going, what he is studying, or when he will arrive – you need Russian question words. These are the most important ones: Russian words for where, when, why et cetera.

Variations due to gender, number, and grammatical case are not shown in the table. For example, чей (masculine) changes to чья (feminine), чьё (neuter), and чьи (plural). Other words, such as какой, кто, and что, also change form depending on their role in the sentence.

Any questions, anyone?
Check these videos.

Question words: когда? где? почему? кто? что? какой?
(LRW Alfia, 2019, 9 mins)

From the same channel:

• 7 Most Common Russian Questions (2019, 8 mins)
• 3 types of Where: Где? Куда? Откуда? (2019, 14 mins)
• 10 Intermediate Question Words (2019, 15 mins)

Что? Где? Когда? Как? Зачем? question words
(Русский с носителем, 2017, 13 mins)

From the same channel: Русский язык: Чей? Чья? Чьё? Чьи? (2018, 9 mins).

More Russian Question Words

• 10 Useful Questions in Russian with Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? (Russian Comprehensive, 2020, 10 mins)
• Question words (Easy Russian Lessons, 2019, 4 mins)
• Questions. Exercises (РКИ для всех, 2019, 10 mins)
• How much? How many times? What time we meet? (R for Russian, 2018, 2 mins)
• How much and how many in Russian (Daria Mikhay, 2018, 4 mins)
• First Russian Words + Easy Questions (Russian in Context, 2018, 1 min)
• Почему vs Зачем, confusing words in Russian (A, Romaker, 2019, 4 mins)
• Learn the Top 15 Must-Know Russian Questions You Should Know (RussianPod101, 2015, 4 mins)

Be Fluent in Russian has several videos about questions and question words. Such as How to Ask A Question in Russian? (2018, 8 mins), Practice Friday #5: Question Words and Answers (2017, 6 mins), Basic Questions Words and Answers (2017, 9 mins), Questions and negations for beginners (R for Russian, 2017, 4 mins) and Ask Questions Right (2016, 7 mins).

LearnRussian.org covers (in the series Simple Phrases in Russian) topics like сколько, где/куда/откуда, почему, какой/какая/какое/какие and когда.

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Last updated April 10, 2026