There are two main types of questions in Klingon:

• Yes/no questions – Answered with “yes” or “no.”
• Question-word questions – Require an explanation, like “what?” or “how?”

Yes/No Questions

These questions use the Type 9 suffix -‘a’ on the verb. This turns a statement into a yes/no question.

• qar'a. – Is it accurate? / Right?
• bIyaj'a' – Do you understand?

Appropriate responses to yes/no questions are:

• HIja' or HISlaH – Yes
• ghobe' – No

You can also create tag questions (e.g., “...right?”) by adding qar'a' to a statement. It can either follow the verb or come at the end of the sentence. Both of the following are correct:

• De' Sov qar'a' HoD
• De' Sov HoD qar'a'
  – The captain knows the information, right?

Question Words

These words are used when a more detailed answer is needed:

• 'Iv – who?
• nuq – what?
• nuqDaq – where? (literally “what-at?”)
• ghorgh – when?
• qatlh – why?
• chay' – how?
• 'ar – how many? how much?

Word Order with 'Iv and nuq

These question words go in the sentence where the answer would normally appear:

• yaS legh 'Iv – Who sees the officer? (subject is unknown)
• 'Iv legh yaS – Whom does the officer see? (object is unknown)
• nuq legh yaS – What does the officer see?
• Duj ghoStaH nuq – What is approaching the ship?

In terms of grammar, 'Iv and nuq are treated as third-person nouns when it comes to verb prefixes:

• nughoStaH nuq – What is approaching us?
• nuq Dalegh – What do you see?

Location, Time, Reason, and Method

Some question words occur at the beginning of the sentence:

• nuqDaq So'taH yaS – Where is the officer hiding?
• ghorgh Haw'pu' yaS – When did the officer flee?
• qatlh Haw'pu' yaS – Why did the officer flee?
• chay' Haw'pu' yaS – How did the officer flee?
• chay' jura' – What are your orders? (Literally: “How do you command us?”)

chay' may also be used by itself to mean “What happened?” or “How did that happen?”

Using 'ar

The word ‘ar means “how many?” or “how much?” and always follows the noun it refers to. It cannot be used with a noun that already has a plural suffix (-pu', -mey, -Du').

• yaS 'ar Haw’pu’ – How many officers fled?
• nIn 'ar wIghaj – How much fuel do we have?
• Duj 'ar DIlegh – How many ships do we see?
• bIQ 'ar wIlegh – How much water do we see?

If the noun being questioned can be either singular or plural (and does not carry a plural suffix), 'ar is interpreted as “how many?” If the noun refers to something uncountable, 'ar means “how much?”