14
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
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 ...
8
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/...
7
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
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
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'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,...
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
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.
(...
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 ...
5
votes
What is the meaning/ usage of か?
You can see this か as a means to turn a verb phrase into a noun phrase. For example, the verb phrase 彼が来る can’t be used as it is as an object of a verb. You need to turn it into a noun phrase and that’...
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
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
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 ...
4
votes
Accepted
How to express “X (and parenthetically Y)”?
This kind of interrupting parentheses are a common practice in Japanese too. Beware that, however, the linguistic and cultural difference between these two languages might make literal translations ...
4
votes
Accepted
Role of か in this sentence
The basic structure of this sentence is:
日本刀と他の刀との違いはXです。
The difference between Japanese swords and other swords is (in) X.
The "is" in the translation simply corresponds to the copula です ...
4
votes
Accepted
Is か modifying all three clauses in this sentences?
No, it doesn't. か is the question tag in Japanese and of those three clauses, only the last one is a question.
If you want to be strict with the translation, it would be
In France, we are researching ...
4
votes
Accepted
What does ~の為か mean in this sentence?
If we remove か from the sentence we get 「ちょうど昼過ぎの為、よく空いていた車内。」'a car that was very empty, because it was just after noon'. The か here removes some amount of certainty, almost like saying 'perhaps ...
3
votes
Accepted
Grammar question about [sentence]のに
The sentence can be roughly divided into three parts:
そういえば、{ほかのボールがどこにあるか}もわからないのに、どうやって探すんだ?
そういえば is a common set phrase, "come to think of it", "as I recall."
ほかのボールがどこにあるか forms an embedded ...
3
votes
It it correct / normal to use か after だ?
なまえはなんですか? vs なまえはなんだか?
Is it normal/natural in the second case? How do you properly convey a question in this case if not with か?
As a simple interrogative sentence "What is [your name]?", 「[なまえ]...
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