13
votes
What does からか mean?
(I know what "から" and the sentence-ending "か" mean, but not this)
Yes, it's this から followed by this か. から here is a reason/cause marker. か is a question marker but is used like "presumably" or "...
11
votes
Accepted
Seemingly non-interrogative use of sentence-ending か
This function of this か is not purely phonetic, but rather serves to make the sentence less of a outward statement and more of a self-directed or self-reflecting one.
It makes the information value ...
10
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of "超か" in this news headline?
超【ちょう】 is "over/above ~", the antonym for 未満.
2m超のヘビ
100kg超の体重
This か is a question marker. か after a noun/suru-verb is a typical "headlinese" expression meaning "there is a possibility ...
8
votes
Accepted
Difference between か and のか
First of all, the meaning is the same. 'questioning the former.'
なぜ彼がそんなことをやったか、わかりません。
なぜ彼がそんなことをやったのか、わかりません。
どうして彼女がそんなつまらない本を読んでいるか、不思議です。
どうして彼女がそんなつまらない本を読んでいるのか、不思議です。
are all natural.
のか
...
8
votes
Accepted
What does からか mean?
You should think of this like から+か. If there wasn't a か, the following would just be a statement of a fact. The から is used to give the reason for the unusual fluency of the foreigner (in this case it ...
6
votes
Accepted
か as a suffix to mean "a few": Why is 何__かがVERB not allowed
This is simply because we don't usually use が to express the number of something. I think you already know (子供が)3人いる, (リンゴが)5個ある, (本を)3冊買う and so on are grammatical. Number + counter can work as a ...
6
votes
「知るか」 and variant phrases
知るか and 口が裂けても言うものか are both Japanese rhetorical questions. The actual meaning is 知らない ("I don't care", "None of my business") and 口が裂けても言わない ("I won't say it no matter what"), respectively.
楽しいことか ...
6
votes
Accepted
Confusion between 誰でも and 誰か
Be careful when translating to/from English because there is some overlap with certain words like these.
誰でも means "anyone" in the sense of "whoever".
マラソンに参加する人は誰でもTシャツをもらう → Anyone who/...
6
votes
When can か振り and 振り be used?
It seems to me that 知った振り and 知ったか振り are basically interchangeable, but 知ったか振り is a little more frequently used in everyday conversation or daily situations than 知った振り. These are the examples found on ...
6
votes
Accepted
やっぱり <Noun> か - why is it ok to have both?
か is not just a question marker but also is a sentence-end particle used to confirm something with a bit of exclamatory feeling. This type of か is pronounced without a rising intonation. If your ...
5
votes
Accepted
What is the use of か in 売り始めるか〜
This か is the same as the particle we see all the time at the end of an interrogative sentence. It's also used in a noun clause like so:
いつ車を売りますか? When do they sell the cars?
いつ車を売るか (noun ...
5
votes
かな ending in a sentence where the speaker is not uncertain of something
かな can state any degree of probability, from nearly zero to all but certain. Another important feature is that かな conveys intent of communication, thus it could imply request or desire so much as ...
5
votes
Word choose between か and のか
This の is called "explanatory-no". Its basic role is to provide an explanation for the current background context. When it's used with the question marker か, のか seeks clarification or explanation for ...
5
votes
Accepted
What does the ~たものか mean in どうやって彼らを誤魔化したものか?
I believe what you are looking for can be found in a grammar dictionary, not a standard dictionary. According to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar, this ものか is "a phrase indicating that ...
5
votes
Accepted
かも。 か。。。も? n5 lvl learner
Basically かも is treated like one word, and there should be no pause between か and も. If you stopped talking after か for whatever reason, you should repeat at least かも. As long as you treat かも as one ...
4
votes
Usage of か after a clause?
Think of this か as a の that is nominalizing a question.
デパートはどこにあるか、知{し}っていますか?
Do you know where is the department store?
In spoken casual conversation I've heard native speakers drop the か and ...
4
votes
Accepted
Unsure about this usage of か
Your explanation is right.
The speaker is not quite sure if that's the right explanation (something like, "The blood has hardened, perhaps because a lot of time has passed").
The grammar you are ...
4
votes
Accepted
Is んでしょう(か) grammatical, and what does it mean?
They're definitely part of standard Japanese, and I don't see why they wouldn't be. Their nuance is different, though, from でしょう(か) on its own: like のだ in general, they have an explanatory tone. ...
4
votes
Accepted
Use of question particles in plain speech
の sounds a little feminine but you can use it if you're male - so long as のか could also be used (兄弟いるの? you can say but not どういう事ですの?) It also has somewhat of an implication of asking for an ...
4
votes
Accepted
Can 何か be a question word?
Can 何か be a question word?
何か here is not a question word. (「何 + か」 can be a question word in different structures.)
[何]{なに}か here means "something".
「~か何か」 = "~~ or something similar" "~~ or ...
4
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between そうですね, そうですか, そうです
そうです is a way of saying 'yes, that is certain.'
For example, a discussion using the word might go like this:
4+3=7 ですか? (Is 4+3=7?)
はい、そうです。(Yes, that is certain.)
On the other hand,...
4
votes
Accepted
Understanding the use of か
The way to break this sentence down is like this:
僕は [山崎先生が昨日何を言ったか] 忘れてしまった。
I forgot [what Yamazaki-sensei said yesterday].
The か marks the clause as an embedded question that the main verb bears ...
4
votes
Accepted
Is ためか the same as ために?
No, ためか and ために don't mean the same thing -- just as か and に do not mean the same thing.
The か in ためか is the same か used as the verbal question mark. This indicates uncertainty and indefiniteness.
(...
4
votes
Accepted
What is the correct question 何だろう or 何だろうか
~だろう forms a question that is mainly addressed to yourself. It's like "I wonder". If you are clearly requesting an answer from someone else, don't use it.
Next, か after だろう in a yes/no type question ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
Related Tags
particle-か × 87grammar × 35
particles × 23
questions × 13
particle-の × 10
particle-と × 8
meaning × 7
translation × 7
nuances × 6
particle-も × 5
sentence-final-particles × 5
subordinate-clauses × 5
interrogatives × 5
modality × 4
embedded-question × 4
words × 3
syntax × 3
volitional-form × 3
formal-nouns × 3
rhetorical-questions × 3
usage × 2
colloquial-language × 2
suffixes × 2
word-choice × 1
verbs × 1