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> Q: あの立派な建物は何ですか。／あの立派な建物は何処ですか。  
>  A: あの立派な建物は留学生食堂です。

Which of the question sounds more natural in the given context?
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2022-04-24T22:29:53.773
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2022-04-24T22:44:10.377
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question
grammar word-choice nuances pronouns
どこ vs なん which one is better in the sentence?
Only interrogative word 何{なん} works here, because the reply gives information
about the function/nature of the building as opposed to where it is.

どこ would work in a context like this:

> 写真で見た立派な建物は何処ですか？  
>  食堂の後ろです。
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2022-04-24T22:52:56.437
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answer
Do you have more context on your question? Additionally, what are your guesses
so far?

Note that both questions mean different things: "What is that splendid
building / Where is that splendid building?". They are **not** two different
ways of asking for the same information. From the provided answer, I'm
inclined to believe that the more natural question would be the first one:

> What is that splendid building? That splendid building is the exchange
> students' canteen.

> Where is that splendid building? That splendid building is [in] the exchange
> student's canteen.

In the case of the second sentence, you could stretch the point and imagine
that the canteen is somehow a smaller part or section of a larger, splendid
building you have been discussing previously and therefore you are using
あの立派な建物 as a label or identifier rather than as a description.

However, if you swap the terms あの立派な建物 and 留学生の食堂, then the second question
with どこですか makes more sense:

> 留学生の食堂はどこですか。あの立派な建物です。Where is the exchange students' canteen ? It's that
> splendid building.

Note that the structure of the sentence is exactly the same, neither is more
correct than the other in terms of syntax. However, **it just makes more or
less sense depending on the _meaning_ of the words used**.

It's only natural that you ask for _what_ something is based on a description
(立派な建物), whereas if you have the definition or the concept (留学生の食堂), then it
makes no sense to ask for _what_ it is, but for other related information,
e.g. where it is, what is the time table or whatever.
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answer