The Particle か I
「か」を使った疑問文の作り方
Turning a sentence into a question is usually accomplished in English by a slight change in word order as is demonstrated by the following example:
i. Sam will go to the park.
ii. Will Sam go to the park?
As you can see, the words “Sam” and “will” flip when i. is turned into a question like in ii.
In Japanese no word order change is necessary to form a question, but the question is marked in some fashion as such. Typically, this is done by adding what is known as a final particle that marks the sentence as a question.
The most basic way to go about this is by using the particle か. This lesson will delve into the most important ways this particle is used in basic grammar.
The Basic Question
疑問文の基礎的な構造
The formula for a basic question in Japanese will be defined as a polite sentence with no deviation in tone from a simple, harmless question. Add anything to the mix and the resulting grammar may not be the same.
In creating the basic question in Japanese, we will learn about how the particle か is used. This particle is known as a “final particle” because it goes at the end of a sentence.
| Part of Speech | +か | Example |
| Noun | N＋ですか | 高校生ですか Is…a high school student? |
| Adjective | Adj.＋ですか | かわいいですか Is it cute? |
| Adjectival Noun | Adj. N ＋ですか | 可能ですか Is…possible? |
| Verb | Verb 連用形＋ -ますか | 変わりますか Will…change? |
1. 休憩を取りますか。
Will you take a break?
2. 山田さんはどこですか。
Where is Mr./Mr(s). Yamada?
3.（お）名前は何ですか。
What is your name?
4.（お）誕生日はいつですか。
When is your birthday?
5. 試験はいつですか。
When is the exam(ination)?
6. 結婚式はいつですか。
When is the wedding?
7. 行きます（か）？
Will you go?/Shall we go?
8. 趣味は何ですか。
What are your hobbies?
9. トイレはどこですか。
Where is the bathroom?
10. 分かりますか。
Do you follow/understand?
11. 分かりましたか。
Have you got it?/Do you understand?
12. 違いますか。
[Is it/Am I] wrong?
13. これは何ですか。
What is this?
14. サラダが嫌いですか?
Do you hate salad?
15. あの人は山下さんですか。
Is that person over there Mr./Mr(s). Yamashita?
16. 「お元気ですか」「はい、元気です」
“How are you?” “I’m doing well.”
Literally: “Are you doing well?” “Yes, I’m doing well.”
Question Words
疑問詞
The majority of questions we ask on a daily basis revolve around the words “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “why,” and “how.” Japanese is similar in this regard, but because a lot more complexity is placed on things like politeness, tone, and purpose of the question, things can get tricky very quickly. Putting all that aside, the basic means of expressing these questions in Japanese are as follows:
- だれですか ー Who is it?
- なんですか ー What is it?
- いつですか ー When is it?
- どこですか ー Where is it?
- どうしてですか ー Why is it?※
- どうですか ー How is it?
In English, these question words can be used more than just to literally create a question. For instance, they may denote a subordinate clause like in “I forgot what I did yesterday.” They may also deviate further such as in “when I go to school” or “use this when you need help.’ These unique circumstances call for particular grammar to be used in Japanese, some of which involves more than the basics we are going over now. You must first understand what exactly the Japanese words refer to in order to build upon them.
- 誰 ー “Who” as in an unknown someone.
- 何 ー “What” as in an unknown something.
- いつ ー “When” as in an unknown time.
- どこ ー “Where” as in an unknown location.
- どうして1 ー “Why” as in an unknown reason.
- どう ー “How” as in an unknown situation/means.
Form Note: In isolation, 何 is reading as なに, but when it is followed by です, it is read as なん.
Languages do not always exactly match in how question words are used figuratively. For instance, if you were to ask someone what part of your partner’s body do you find attractive, なに would not be used. Instead, どこ would be used because you are talking about a location on the body. Other instances of “what” overreach include the following two examples.
17. 住所はどこですか。
What is your address?
18. どう思いますか。
What do you think (of it)?
Another important difference is that these words are “question words.” Meaning, the word いつ cannot be used to mean “when” as in “when I go to school.” In English, “when” happens to be used both as a regular time phrase and as a question word, but this is not the case in Japanese.
「X＋は＋Y（Question Word）＋が＋ Z」
When question words are not used as the predicate of the sentence, the differences between は and が become most apparent. Instead of seeing the question word at the end of the sentence preceded by は, you see that the question word is now marked by が and that the question word is pinpointing information about the topic. Thus, it is no longer a general question.
iii. What is a pet? → Question word at the end
iv. What would be good for a pet? → XはY (question word)がZ
iii. and iv. illustrate how this grammatical difference works in English. iii. follows the same line of questioning seen in the previous section whereas iv. is indicative of the sorts of questions that will soon follow.
All the question words discussed can be used as either nouns or adverbs except どう (how), which can only be used as an adverb.
19. 座席はどこがいいですか。
What seat(s) is/are good?
Literally: As for seat(s), where at is good?
20. いつ（が）都合がいいですか。
When will be convenient for you?
Literally: As for you, when is convenient?
Particle Note: Although いつ can be used as a noun, this is not nearly as common, so が is always optional after it. In this example sentence, 都合がいい is a set phrase meaning “convenient,” and because it is grammatically treated as a single adjective, two が may be in the same clause.
21. 日本のどこが好きですか？
What part of Japan do you like?
Literally: Where of Japan do you like?
22. 足のどこが痛いですか。
What part of your leg hurts?
Literally: Where on your leg is it that hurts?
23. お土産は何がいいですか。
What would be good for souvenirs?
Literally: As for souvenirs, what is good?
24.お飲み物は何がいいですか。
What would you like to drink?
As you can see, the very fundamental pattern “X + は + Y + が + Z” affects question words the same way as any other words, but this also means you’ll have to pay some attention to nuance. Consider the difference between the two following sentences.
25. 社長は誰ですか。
Who is the company president?
The topic of conversation here is clearly the company president. The question is “who is he/she”? This sentence would be used when you are asking someone to identify who someone is, and the person doesn’t have to be there.
26. 誰が社長ですか？
Who is the company president?
As a standalone statement, 26. would catch a speaker off-guard as an odd question as more context is needed to justify why the questioner feels it’s necessary to pinpoint who the boss is.
27. 問題は何ですか。
What’s the matter?
28. 何が問題ですか?
What is the problem?
Just as in English, the same sternness that this question possesses comes across in Ex. 28. Although both sentences could be translated as “what is the problem,” Ex. 27 is not as direct and is merely innocently asking the question at hand.
Basic Questions in Plain Speech
常体語における疑問文の作り方
The lack of です or ～ます in forming questions in plain speech makes using か a little bit more tricky, largely because it’s not used at all. Rather, a phrase usually becomes a question in plain speech by the use of raised intonation.
29. 大丈夫？
Are you okay?
30. それは何？
What is that?
31. あれはクモ？
Is that a spider over there?
32. 上野公園はどこ？
Where’s Ueno Park?
When か is used in plain speech, there are both grammatical and sociolinguistic factors that must be taken into account.
- か does not attach to だ like it does with です when the copula serves as the predicate2. Instead, the copula だ is dropped, leaving only か. This means か attaches directly to nouns and adjectival nouns without copula intervention. Incidentally, not using か altogether as we just saw is more common. The reason for this brings us to the sociolinguistic aspects.
- Marking questions in plain speech with か is done so largely by male speakers. Specific sociolinguistic implications are contingent on both tone and the relationship between the speaker and listener(s). When directed at friends of equal or lower status, or towards outsiders of lower status3, the question is made without reservations over marking politeness. Especially when directed at outsiders, the question may show no modesty towards the listener at all and may even be used with an interrogative, brutish tone. In totality, these effects are what prompts men to use か in informal situations.
33. 大丈夫か?
You alright?
34. 君はあほか?
Are you stupid or something?
35. あんた、行くか?
You coming?
Tone Note: The use of Ex. 35 is largely restricted to men in coarse conversation.
Say if the question is not directed at anyone, but instead, you are talking to oneself or reacting to something and make a rhetorical question to that effect, then か loses its potency. As the following examples demonstrate, this applies to polite speech as well.
36. もう時間（です）か。
It’s already time, huh…
37. さ、行くか。
Well, time to go.
38. では、行きますか。
Alright, time to go.
39. 雨、降ったか。
It rained, huh?
40. ああ、そうか。
Ah, really?/I see.
Question Word ＋ だ
In plain speech, when a question word is used as the predicate, the predicate/question word cannot be followed by the particle か in most sentences. The reason for this is because adding か directly to a question word usually creates phrases involving “some…” To get around this, a speaker has two options.
1. Attach nothing to the question word and use a rising intonation to indicate that it is a question.
2. Follow the question word with the copula verb だ.
Option 2 is preferred by men, especially in casual conversation. It must be noted, though, that the tone created is meant to be stern, and an angry tone can easily make the question sound rude and demanding.
For both options, speakers often add the particle よ to make the tone of the question more emphatic. As it is not what marks the sentence as a question, you can simply visualize it as a tack-on to the sentence. In the case of Option 1, the construction becomes feminized by the addition of よ as the sentence looks as if the more masculine だ is omitted.
41. 何だ、これ？
What the heck is this?
Sentence Note: This sentence is inverted, but reversing the predicate and subject like this is common in casual speech, especially with simple questions.
42. えっ、何よ！(Feminine)
Wh-what the heck?
43. 鍵はどこだ。
Where [is/are] the key(s)?
44. 鍵はどこだよ！
Where [is/are] the dang key(s)!?
45. 君、どうしてだよ！
You…why!?
There are highly specific scenarios in which you may find a question word as the predicate followed by か, but as the following example illustrates, they are always very philosophical and rhetorical and not intended to necessarily be answered directly by the listener.
46. 人生とは何か。
What exactly is life as a human?
- Another common word for “why?” is なぜ. Though very formal in polite speech, it can have a very stern tone in plain speech. It is best to stick to どうして until you are more familiar with nuancing your speech. ↩︎
- The combination だか does appear in subordinate clauses. ↩︎
- In Japanese society, certain relationships may warrant plain speech by the speaker for maintaining rank distinction; this may be done in a cordial manner in tandem. A classic example would be a sempai-kо̄hai relationship. Both parties could very well be friends, but the sempai’s rank allows for unilateral use of coarser speech. Meanwhile, the kо̄hai, depending on other social dynamics, may feel inclined to use politer speech registers. ↩︎