how do you say "what is your address" in german
hi!
may i ask why is "what is your address?" translated to "Wie ist Ihre Adresse?"

From what i understand "Was" in german means "What" in english. Why can't i translate into "Was ist Ihre Adresse?"

Thanks so much for your help!

Question

how do you  say "what is your address" in german
hi! 
may i ask why is "what is your address?" translated to "Wie ist Ihre Adresse?"

From what i understand "Was" in german means "What" in english. Why can't i translate into "Was ist Ihre Adresse?"

Thanks so much for your help!

Answer

"Was" refers to the character of something. "Was ist deine Adresse?" => My adress is my adress. My adress is stupid. My adress is funny.

"Wie ist deine Adresse?" is related to "Wie lautet deine Adresse?" (literally: "How does your adress sound?").

The same applies to "What is your name?".

"Was ist dein Name?"
=> Mein Name ist lustig.

"Wie ist dein Name?" / "Wie lautet dein Name?"
=> Mein Name ist Angelinelim.
(=> The answer "Mein Name lautet Angelinelim" sounds a bit antiquated.)

Answer

There's not a satisfying explanation, I'm afraid. It is a frequently used and common phrase and therefore conventionalised. German simply realises this question differently. 
You're of course right that, in general, 'what' means 'was'. You can regard the above question as an exception.

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