Question Words (Fragewörter)
W-questions and how to ask in German
German has two question shapes. W-QUESTIONS start with a question word, and the verb comes immediately after it in position two: Wo wohnst du? · Wann kommt der Bus? · Warum lernst du Deutsch? YES/NO QUESTIONS have no question word at all — you simply move the verb to position one: Wohnst du in Berlin? · Kommt der Bus bald? Note that wer (who) changes with the case, exactly like a pronoun: wer (subject) → wen (direct object) → wem (receiver). And welcher (which) changes like an article: welcher Mann, welche Frau, welches Kind.
Persian forms a yes/no question with intonation alone, or with «آیا» at the front — the word order never changes: «تو در برلین زندگی میکنی؟». German has no آیا and does not rely on intonation: the verb physically moves to the front. If you keep normal word order and just raise your voice, a German listener hears a statement, not a question.