How / this way
The ko/so/do manner words plus dou yatte, dou iu and dou shita: how something went, how it is done, 'like that', what exactly is going on, and what's wrong.
dou
how; how about
どう
Asks for an opinion, a report or a plan in one word (dou?, dou datta?, dou suru?, dou omou?), and after a noun it suggests (ashita dou?).
eiga, dou datta?
How was the movie?
映画、どうだった？
eiga wa dou deshita ka?
How was the movie?
映画はどうでしたか？
Shop staff use the extra-polite ikaga desu ka when offering something.
sou iu
that kind of; like that (what you said)
そういう
Refers back to something just said or mentioned (sou iu koto = so that's it, sou iu hito = that kind of person); the same sou follows verbs of thinking and doing (sou omou = I think so, sou yatte = like that).
sou iu koto ka.
Oh, so that's what you mean.
そういうことか。
sou iu koto desu ka.
Oh, so that's what you mean.
そういうことですか。
The a- version aa iu / aa yatte (something you both saw) is mostly for recognition; sou works almost everywhere you might say aa.
Learn alongside: dou, kou, dou yatte, dou iuLearn first: sore
kou
like this; this way
こう
Demonstrates a way of doing something while you show it (kou yatte, kou suru to), and kou iu means 'this kind of'.
kou yatte tsukau n da yo.
You use it like this.
こうやって使うんだよ。
kou yatte tsukau n desu yo.
You use it like this.
こうやって使うんですよ。
kou? with a gesture means 'like this?', the easiest way to check you're doing it right.
Learn alongside: dou, sou iu, dou yatte, dou iuLearn first: sou iu
dou yatte
how; by what means
どうやって
Asks for the method or route (dou yatte iku?, dou yatte tsukuru?), where bare dou would ask for an opinion.
dou yatte tsukau no?
How do you use it?
どうやって使うの？
dou yatte tsukau n desu ka?
How do you use it?
どうやって使うんですか？
Alone, dou yatte? works as a quick 'How?'
dou shita
polite dou shita n desu kawhat's wrong; what happened
どうした どうしたんですか
The check-in when someone looks upset, hurt or late (dou shita no?); after a noun it asks what became of the thing (kagi dou shita? = what did you do with the key?).
dou shita no? genki nai ne.
What's wrong? You seem down.
どうしたの？元気ないね。
dou shita n desu ka? genki nai desu ne.
What's wrong? You seem down.
どうしたんですか？元気ないですね。
Staff and doctors say dou shimashita ka? to ask what the problem is. Don't mix it up with dou suru? (what will you do?).
dou iu
what exactly (+ noun); dou iu koto? = how so? what's going on?
どういう
Goes before a noun to ask what exactly something is: dou iu koto? (how so? what's going on?), dou iu hito? (who is he, exactly? how do you know him?), dou iu kankei? (how are you two connected?). It is the question partner of sou iu. To ask what a word means, use dou iu imi? (Responses, reactions, fillers & social phrases).
e, dou iu koto? ashita konai no?
Wait, what's going on? You're not coming tomorrow?
え、どういうこと？明日来ないの？
e, dou iu koto desu ka? ashita konai n desu ka?
Wait, what's going on? You're not coming tomorrow?
え、どういうことですか？明日来ないんですか？
dou iu koto? with a light rising tone is the everyday 'how so?'; said flat and hard it becomes 'what is the meaning of this?!', like dou iu wake? (see wake da). With clerks and strangers, dou iu imi desu ka? (Responses, reactions, fillers & social phrases) is the safe way to ask for clarification. In nihongo de dou iu? (how do you say it in Japanese?), iu is the verb 'say', not this word.
Learn alongside: dou, sou iu, kou, dou yatteLearn first: dou, sou iu