Overview
These two question words both sometimes get translated as “how” in English, but they ask for completely different things. どうして asks why — it wants a reason: どうして遅れたんですか (“Why were you late?”), answered with a because-clause (電車が止まったからです). どうやって asks how — it wants a method or means: どうやって駅まで行きますか (“How do you get to the station?”), answered by describing the way (バスで行きます). So the split is reason versus method: どうして seeks a cause, どうやって seeks a procedure. The shorthand for students: why → どうして (answer with から/ので); how (by what means) → どうやって (answer with a method). They confuse learners because English “how” can loosely cover both (“how come you’re late?” = why), so beginners reach for the wrong one and get a mismatched answer. Getting them straight also connects to two lessons you know: どうして pairs with the reason forms から/ので and with the explanatory んですか. The sections below split them. The entries lead with a simple example, then a funny one.
どうして — “why (asking for a reason)”
Explanation
どうして asks why — it requests the reason or cause behind something. どうして泣いているんですか (“Why are you crying?”); どうして日本語を勉強しているんですか (“Why are you studying Japanese?”). The natural answer gives a reason, using から or ので: 「どうして休みましたか。」→「病気だったからです。」 (“Why were you absent?” → “Because I was sick”). Because you’re asking for an explanation, どうして very often pairs with the explanatory んですか (どうして〜んですか), which invites the listener to explain — exactly the “asking for a reason” job from the explanation lesson.
Grammatically, どうして sits at or near the front of the question, and the sentence ends with か (or casual の): どうして + [clause] + んですか. It has close synonyms at different registers: なぜ is the more formal/written “why,” and なんで is the casual/spoken “why.” All three ask for a reason; どうして is the neutral everyday choice. (A note: どうして can rarely carry a “how on earth” flavor, but at N5 treat it simply as “why.”)
The register is neutral and everyday. The teaching anchor is why — a request for a reason: どうして expects a because-answer. It differs from どうやって, which asks for a method. If you want to know the reason something happened, どうして is the fit.
Examples
どうしてこの町が好きなんですか。 — Why do you like this town?
🍫 母：「どうして私のチョコレートを食べたの？」私：「おなかがすいていたからです。」母：「これは朝ごはん用だよ。」私：「じゃあ、朝ごはんの時間だったからです。」 — Mom: “Why did you eat my chocolate?” Me: “Because I was hungry.” Mom: “This was for breakfast.” Me: “Then, because it was breakfast time.”
Common mistake
Don’t use どうして when you mean “by what method” — it asks for a reason, not a way. ✗ If you want to know how someone travels and you ask どうして会社に行きますか, you’re actually asking why they go to the office, not how; use どうやって会社に行きますか for the means. And answer a どうして question with a reason (から／ので): replying without a cause leaves the “why” unanswered.
どうやって — “how (asking for a method)”
Explanation
どうやって asks how in the sense of by what means / in what way — it requests the method or procedure. どうやってこれを作りますか (“How do you make this?”); どうやって漢字を覚えますか (“How do you memorize kanji?”). The answer describes the means or the steps: with a tool marked by で (はしで食べます, “I eat with chopsticks”), a route (電車で行きます), or a sequence (まず〜て、それから〜, “first…, then…”). Literally it’s どう (“how”) + やって (the て-form of やる/する, “doing”), so it means “doing in what way.”
Grammatically, どうやって comes before the verb whose method you’re asking about, and the sentence ends with か: どうやって + [verb]ますか. Its more formal cousin is どのように (“in what manner”), used in polite or written contexts. Don’t confuse どうやって with plain どう: どう alone asks about a state or impression (どうですか, “how is it?”; どう思いますか, “what do you think?”), while どうやって specifically asks about the method of doing an action.
The register is neutral and everyday. The teaching anchor is how — a request for a method: どうやって expects a way-of-doing answer. It differs from どうして, which asks for a reason. If you want to know the means or steps to do something, どうやって is the fit.
Examples
すみません、どうやってこの切符を買いますか。 — Excuse me, how do I buy this ticket?
🍳 友だち：「どうやってこの料理を作ったんですか。」私：「まず、スーパーへ行きます。そして、お弁当を買います。そして、おさらに入れます。」友だちは「それは料理じゃないです」と言いました。 — Friend: “How did you make this dish?” Me: “First, I go to the supermarket. Then, I buy a bento box. Then, I put it on a plate.” My friend said, “That’s not cooking.”
Common mistake
Don’t use どうやって to ask why, and don’t mix it up with plain どう. ✗ どうやって遅れましたか asks “by what method did you become late,” which is odd — for a reason, use どうして遅れましたか. And ✗ using どう for a method (どう作りますか) is unnatural when you mean the steps; use どうやって作りますか. Save どう for impressions (どうですか).
How to choose
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