At a glance
だれ means "who". It is used to ask about a person's identity, and it goes in the same place in the sentence as the person in the answer.
[Topic] は だれ ですか。
だれ ＋ particle ＋ verb ＋ か。
あの人はだれですか。 Who is that person?
How to form it
だれ works like a noun. Add the particle that the answer would take:
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| だれですか | あの人はだれですか。 | Who is that person? |
| だれが (subject) | だれが来ますか。 | Who is coming? |
| だれの ＋ noun | これはだれの傘ですか。 | Whose umbrella is this? |
| だれに | だれに会いましたか。 | Who did you meet? |
| だれと | だれと行きますか。 | Who are you going with? |
| だれを | だれを待っていますか。 | Who are you waiting for? |
In casual speech, drop か and use rising intonation or の: だれ？ / だれが来るの？