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 "...
naruto's user avatar
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11 votes
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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 ...
Darius Jahandarie's user avatar
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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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9 votes
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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 ...
Keita ODA's user avatar
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8 votes
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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 ...
Ringil's user avatar
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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7 votes
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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/...
istrasci's user avatar
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6 votes
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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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 ...
samhana's user avatar
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6 votes
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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5 votes
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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,...
Notte Stellata's user avatar
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 ...
Setris's user avatar
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5 votes
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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. (...
Eiríkr Útlendi's user avatar
5 votes
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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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’...
aguijonazo's user avatar
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4 votes
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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 ...
chocolate's user avatar
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4 votes
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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 ...
どっかのおっさん's user avatar
4 votes
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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4 votes
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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 ...
broccoli forest's user avatar
4 votes
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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4 votes
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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 ...
deeeeekun's user avatar
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4 votes
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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 ...
Angelos's user avatar
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3 votes
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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 ...
naruto's user avatar
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