お前は寂しくないのかよ
It sounds kind of rough, so I suppose it is a masculine alternative of something else. Also, it does not really sound as a question intonation-wise compared to this following sentence.
お前は寂しくない?
How does this question differ in nuance?
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Duplicate? japanese.stackexchange.com/q/5177/45489– sundownerFeb 14, 2022 at 4:05
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1I am not quite sure, as this is certainly not a rhetorical question.– 美しい孤独Feb 14, 2022 at 5:13
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"Aren't you lonely, huh?!" - よ is like the huh. Not a question but a question mark fits well.– dungarianFeb 14, 2022 at 6:42
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1 Answer
It's a question marker か followed by a sentence-final particle よ. This combination does sound masculine, like an informal conversation between two young male friends, but it's used also by young female speakers in slangy speech.
明鏡国語辞典 defines this as follows:
よ
❸《疑問の語や質問の文に付いて》質問・反問に詰問・反駁の意を添える。 「こんなことしたの誰だよ」「一体何考えてるのよ」「おまえなんかにできるかよ」「そんなこと言えた義理かよ」
【使い方】 常体に使うのが普通で、「誰が行きますかよぅ」などと敬体に使うと、皮肉な調子が出る。「誰だよ」「できるかよ」など、「だよ」「かよ」の形は女性にはあまり使われない。
So basically this type of よ adds a nuance of rebuttal, accusation or irritation. The closest equivalent in English I can think of would be "come on" as in "Come on, are you serious?"
かよ can form both a genuine question and a rhetorical question, and お前は寂しくないのかよ is not a rhetorical question. As compared to お前は寂しくないの(か), it sounds like the speaker is dubious and serious. Note that this is not necessarily rude as long as it's used appropriately between friends. Also note that よ outside questions are totally different.
