🤔
Hypothetical Questions
150 questions · By Dima Tretyak, creator of DeepTalk · Updated
A hypothetical question asks what someone would do in a situation that isn't real, at least not yet. That's what makes these questions useful: nobody has a rehearsed answer, so you hear how people actually think, what they want and what they would never do.
The questions below go from silly to serious. Warm up with the fun and funny ones, then move to the deep questions, the moral dilemmas or the ones for couples once the conversation gets going.
Fun hypothetical questions
Light, easy to picture and good with anyone, from a first date to a family dinner.
- 1If you could instantly master any hobby, which one would you pick?
- 2If your life had a theme song that played whenever you walked into a room, what song would it be?
- 3You can only eat food from one country for the rest of your life. Which country do you choose?
- 4If you could live inside any movie for a week, which one would you pick?
- 5If you had to teach a class on something tomorrow, what would the class be about?
- 6You get a free, all-expenses-paid trip that leaves tonight. Where are you going?
- 7If you could swap lives with a celebrity for a day, who would it be and what would you do first?
- 8If you opened a restaurant, what would be on the menu?
- 9If you could have any animal as a pet, with no rules about space or safety, what would you get?
- 10You can add one room to your home with no budget limit. What is it?
- 11If you had to wear one outfit every day for a year, what would it be?
- 12If you could spend a day as any fictional character, who would you pick?
- 13You're given a free billboard in the middle of your city for a month. What does it say?
- 14If every day for a year had to start with the same breakfast, what would you eat?
- 15If you could be the world's best at one completely useless skill, what would it be?
Funny and weird hypothetical questions
Absurd what-ifs for when you want the table laughing.
- 16If animals could talk, which one would be the rudest?
- 17You wake up with a tail. How does it change your day?
- 18If your pet could text you, what would their first message say?
- 19If you were a ghost, who or what would you haunt?
- 20If your life were a sitcom, who would be the funniest character in it?
- 21If you had to fight one hundred duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck, which would you pick?
- 22If you could make one mildly annoying thing illegal, what would it be?
- 23If you were a kitchen appliance, which one would you be and why?
- 24You can only communicate through song lyrics for a week. What's your go-to line?
- 25If your search history got read out loud at your birthday party, what would you delete first?
- 26If you were a flavor of chips, what flavor would you be?
- 27If a stranger followed you around narrating your life, whose voice would they use?
- 28If your cat or dog ran the house for a day, what would the new rules be?
- 29You're turned into a household object for 24 hours. Which object do you hope for?
- 30If you had to replace your laugh with an animal sound, which animal would you choose?
Rather play than scroll? DeepTalk deals these out one card at a time.
Deep hypothetical questions
For a long walk or a late night. More in our deep questions.
- 31If you knew you couldn't fail, what would you try first?
- 32If you could find out one secret from your family's history, what would you want to know?
- 33If you could relive one day of your life exactly as it was, which day would you pick?
- 34If you had one year left to live, how would you spend it?
- 35If you could send a short message to yourself ten years ago, what would it say?
- 36If you could see how people will remember you, would you want to look, and why?
- 37If you could erase one memory, would you, and which one?
- 38If you woke up tomorrow with no fear at all, what would you do differently?
- 39If money didn't matter, what would you do with your days?
- 40If you could spend an hour with anyone who has died, who would you choose?
- 41If you could change one decision you've made, which one would it be?
- 42If you lived to 150, how would you plan your life differently?
- 43If you had to describe the meaning of life in one sentence, what would you say?
- 44If you could guarantee one thing for the people you love, what would it be?
- 45If you had to live the same year over and over, which year would you choose?
Hypothetical questions for couples
Ask these together and compare answers. More in our questions for couples.
- 46If we could move anywhere in the world tomorrow, where should we go?
- 47If our relationship were a movie, what genre would it be?
- 48If we swapped lives for a week, what would surprise you most about mine?
- 49If we had a weekend with no phones and no plans, how would you want to spend it?
- 50If we could relive our first date, what would you change?
- 51If we had to run a food truck together, what would we sell?
- 52If we could only celebrate one holiday a year, which should it be?
- 53If we could take a year off together, what would we do with it?
- 54If our love story were a book, what would the title be?
- 55If we became famous as a couple, what would we be famous for?
- 56If we could build our dream home anywhere, what would it look like?
- 57If you could plan a surprise for me with no budget, what would it be?
- 58If we had to pick one tradition to keep forever, which one would it be?
- 59If we could press pause on life for a month, where would you want us to spend it?
- 60If our kids or friends asked how we met, which version of the story would you tell?
Hypothetical questions to ask your boyfriend or girlfriend
A little flirty, a little revealing. More ideas for your boyfriend and your girlfriend.
- 61If you could relive the moment we met, what would you do differently?
- 62If I disappeared for a day, what's the first thing you'd notice?
- 63If you had to describe me to someone using only three words, which would you pick?
- 64If you could read my mind for a day, what would you want to find out?
- 65If you had to plan my perfect birthday, what would it look like?
- 66If our life together were a movie, who would play me?
- 67If we met for the first time today, what would you say to me?
- 68If you could give me any superpower, which one would you pick?
- 69If you could keep one memory of us forever, which one would it be?
- 70If you were stuck with me in an elevator for five hours, how would you keep us entertained?
- 71If we got a pet together, what would we name it?
- 72If you could steal one habit of mine, which one would you take?
- 73If you were writing a song about us, what would the first line be?
- 74If you had to cook me one meal to win me over again, what would you make?
- 75If I could change one thing about our routine, what do you think it would be?
Hypothetical questions for friends
For group chats, road trips and game nights. For more, try never have I ever.
- 76If our friend group were a band, who would play what?
- 77If we started a podcast together, what would it be about?
- 78If we were in a heist movie, what role would each of us play?
- 79If we were contestants on a survival show, who would win and who would go home first?
- 80If you had to pick one of us to plan your wedding, who would you choose?
- 81If we won the lottery as a group, what would we spend it on first?
- 82If we all lived in one house, who would never do the dishes?
- 83If we switched phones for a day, what would you be most nervous about?
- 84If we made a movie about our friendship, what would the opening scene be?
- 85If you could add anyone to our friend group, who would it be?
- 86If we went on a road trip with no plan, where would we end up?
- 87If our group chat got leaked, which message would cause the most trouble?
- 88If you had to trade lives with one person here, who would it be?
- 89If each of us came with a warning label, what would yours say?
- 90If zombies attacked tonight, what would each of us be doing?
What would you do if…? Scenarios for adults
Real-life situations with no easy answer. Good for debates.
- 91What would you do if you found a wallet with $1,000 and no ID inside?
- 92What would you do if you woke up in a different country with no phone?
- 93What would you do if your boss asked you to lie to a client?
- 94What would you do if you saw your best friend's partner on a dating app?
- 95What would you do if you could walk through walls for a day?
- 96What would you do if you could stop time for an hour every day?
- 97What would you do if a stranger offered you $10,000 to shave your head right now?
- 98What would you do if you got stuck in an airport for three days?
- 99What would you do if you found out your life was a simulation?
- 100What would you do if you could hear everyone's thoughts for a day?
- 101What would you do if you inherited a house you'd never seen?
- 102What would you do if your phone could only call one person for a month?
- 103What would you do if you became famous overnight for something embarrassing?
- 104What would you do if you got a text from yourself dated five years in the future?
- 105What would you do if you were handed the keys to your city for a day?
Moral dilemmas and tough hypothetical questions
No right answers, only honest ones. Ask why after each.
- 106Which would you choose: a painful truth or a happy lie?
- 107If you could save five strangers by sacrificing one, what would you do?
- 108If you could cure one disease but had to give up music forever, would you?
- 109If you found out a close friend cheated on a test years ago, would you say anything?
- 110If you could live forever but everyone you love would not, would you take it?
- 111If a pill could make you happy forever but none of it would be real, would you take it?
- 112If you had to choose between your dream job and living near your family, which would you pick?
- 113If you could press a button for a million dollars but a random stranger would lose their job, would you press it?
- 114If lying would spare a friend's feelings but hurt them later, what would you tell them?
- 115If you could see everyone's honest opinion of you, would you look?
- 116If you could make one law that everyone had to follow, what would it be?
- 117If you could fix one problem in the world but lose ten years of your life, would you do it?
- 118If your best friend asked you to lie for them in court, what would you do?
- 119If you could know every secret your partner has, would you want to?
- 120If you could get your dream life by never seeing your hometown again, would you take the deal?
Superpowers, time travel and magic
The classic "if you could" questions. Quick choices work well here too, like our this or that questions.
- 121If you could have any superpower but only for ten minutes a day, what would you choose?
- 122If you could time travel once, would you go to the past or the future?
- 123If you could visit any year in history, which one would you pick and why?
- 124If you could teleport anywhere right now, where would you go?
- 125If you could talk to one species of animal, which would you choose?
- 126If a genie gave you three wishes, what would your first wish be?
- 127If you could turn into any animal at will, which one would you choose?
- 128If you could meet your future self for five minutes, what would you ask?
- 129If you could fly but only as fast as you can walk, would you still want it?
- 130If you could own one gadget from a movie or book, what would it be?
- 131If you could pause the world while you took a nap, how often would you use it?
- 132If you could spend a week as a medieval knight, a pirate or an astronaut, which would you pick?
- 133If you could shrink to the size of an ant for a day, where would you explore?
- 134If you could redo one moment in history, which would you change?
- 135If magic were real, what's the first spell you'd learn?
Money, fame and big life changes
What people would do with more money, more time or a fresh start says a lot about them.
- 136If you won $10 million tomorrow, what's the first thing you'd buy?
- 137If you had to give away $1 million in a week, how would you do it?
- 138If you became famous tomorrow, what would you want to be famous for?
- 139If you could have any job in the world for a year, what would it be?
- 140If you could retire right now, how would you fill your time?
- 141If you had to live on $50 a week, what would you cut first?
- 142If you could have dinner with any three people, living or not, who would you invite?
- 143If you could start over in a new city with a new name, where would you go?
- 144If you could only keep five things you own, what would they be?
- 145If your life came with a rewind button, when would you have used it?
- 146If you had to move to another country next month, which one would you choose?
- 147If you could spend a year learning anything, with no job or bills, what would you study?
- 148If you could own any company in the world, which would you pick?
- 149If you had to pick a new career by throwing a dart at a list of jobs, which one would you hope to hit?
- 150If you could skip one part of adult life forever, what would it be?
How to use these questions
- Warm up with the fun and funny questions before you move to the deep ones or the moral dilemmas.
- Ask "why?" after every answer. The reasoning is usually more interesting than the answer.
- Answer your own question too, so it feels like a conversation and not a quiz.
- In a group, let everyone answer before anyone argues. Then argue.
- Over text, pick the short ones and send one at a time.
Play them as cards instead
DeepTalk deals questions like these one card at a time, with 20 decks and over 2,000 questions for couples and friends.
Frequently asked questions
What is a hypothetical question?
A question about an imagined situation, usually starting with "what if" or "if you could". It asks how someone would think or act, not what already happened, so there's no right or wrong answer.
What are some good hypothetical questions to ask?
Good ones are specific and easy to picture: "If you knew you couldn't fail, what would you try first?", "What would you do if you found a wallet with $1,000 and no ID inside?" or "If you could relive one day of your life, which day would you pick?"
What are some deep hypothetical questions?
Deep ones ask about regrets, fears and what matters most, like "If you had one year left to live, how would you spend it?" or "If you could change one decision you've made, which one would it be?" There are 15 more in the deep section above.
What's the difference between hypothetical and would you rather questions?
A would you rather question gives two options to pick from. A hypothetical question sets up a situation and leaves the answer open, so it usually leads to a longer answer and more follow-up questions.
Are hypothetical questions good for a first date?
Yes, as long as you start light. Fun ones like "If you opened a restaurant, what would be on the menu?" are easy to answer and show someone's personality. Save the moral dilemmas for later.
How do you play a hypothetical questions game?
Take turns asking one question each. Everyone answers, then explains why. To make it more of a game, let the group vote on the best answer, or use a card app like DeepTalk so nobody has to think of the next question.