"Ask" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Smiths. It was released as a single on 20 October 1986 through Rough Trade Records. Credited to vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, "Ask" is an upbeat, positive pop song built around major chords. Its lyrics touch on shyness and encourages the listener to release their inhibitions. Its multiple guitar parts and complex production led to disagreements regarding its final mix. In addition, Craig Gannon, one-time rhythm guitarist for the group, has claimed he wrote and was denied credit for the song's chord structure.

The single cover depicts actress Yootha Joyce. Upon its release, it continued the Smiths' top 20 streak in their native country, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart; in addition, the song reached number nine in Ireland. Filmmaker Derek Jarman directed the song's music video. As with most of the Smiths' singles, it was not included on an original album. It can be found on the compilations The World Won't Listen and Louder Than Bombs (both 1987) as well as the live album Rank (1988).

"Ask" was written as a more intentionally lighthearted song, following the heavy themes of its predecessor single, "Panic". "“If the next single [after 'Panic'] had been a slight protest, regardless of the merits of the actual song, people would say, 'Here we go again,'" Morrissey said. The song's lyrics include the couplet "Writing frightening verse / To a buck-toothed girl in Luxembourg," which has been interpreted as a reference to Morrissey's youth, in which he frequently wrote letters.Simon Goddard, the author of Mozipedia, also traces the lyric "nature's a language, can't you read" to playwright Alan Bennett's 1978 teleplay Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf, which contained the line, "Nature has a language, you see, if only we'd learn to read it."

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