The Particle Ka か III: Indirect Question
Subordinate clauses (jūzokusetsu 従属節) are the opposite of independent clauses (dokuritsusetsu 独立節). In English, independent clauses stand alone as sentences with at least a subject and a verb, and dependent clauses are composed of a subject and verb but do not form a complete thought. Thus, the former is used as a sentence and may also be called the “main clause (shusetsu 主節)” but the latter is not. In the English sentences, below, the clause put in [] is labeled as either being an independent or a dependent clause.
- [I went to the park.] – Independent
- The one [who went to the park]… – Dependent
- [That song is amazing.] – Independent
- Which song was it [(that) I thought was amazing]? – Dependent
- I forgot [what we did the other day.] – Dependent
- I know [what you did the other day.] – Dependent
In English, dependent clauses are usually marked with the words “what,” “which,” “whose,” “where,” “who,” “whom,” and “that.” English doesn’t particularly distinguish between using these words based on whether a question is being embedded or not. In other words, “what” doesn’t look different in v. or vi. despite that the meaning is not the same.
Subordinate Clause: When not a question
When you are creating a subordinate clause but not to embed a question, you simply place the verbal phrase like you would an adjectival phrase directly before the noun you wish to modify. This is exactly opposite of English, which depending on the length of the phrase, usually places complex verbal qualifiers after the noun in question.
1. 健太君はきのう、山を登りました。
Kenta-kun wa kinō, yama wo noborimashita.
Yesterday, Kenta climbed a mountain.
2. きのう山を登ったのは、健太君でした。
Kinō yama wo nobotta no wa , Kenta-kun deshita.
The one who climbed the mountain yesterday was Kenta.
In Ex. 2, the particle no の is used to change kinō yama wo nobotta きのう山を登った into a nominal phrase exactly. It is essentially the “one” in the sentence with no intervening “who” being necessary. This should not be new information at this point as we’ve seen plenty of sentences in which whole phrases, whether they end in adjectives or verbs, modify nouns. Now you just know a little more about what’s going on.
3. 巨大な魚があのサメを飲み込んだ。
Kyodai na sakana ga ano same wo nomikonda.
An enormous fish swallowed that shark.
4. あのサメを飲み込んだ、この魚はやはり大きいですね。
Ano same wo nomikonda, kono sakana wa yahari ōkii desu ne.
This fish, which swallowed that shark, is big as expected, isn’t it.
Embedded/Indirect Questions
When a subordinate clause is an embedded question, the particle ka か intervenes. Embedded sentences, as a rule, don’t include the topic of the sentence. This is because the topic should be outside, in the main clause. As such, you will expect to see ga が in dependent clauses. If for some reason you do see wa は, that’s a clue that you are not actually in the embedded clause, and if you are, it’s not being used to mark the topic.
5. カイロは（、）どこの国にあるか知っていますか。
Kairo wa(,) doko no kuni ni aru ka shitte imasu ka?
Do you know which country Cairo is at?
Literally: As for Cairo, do you know which country it is at?
6. どの宿題が難しかったか教えてください。
Dono shukudai ga muzukashikatta ka oshiete kudasai.
Please tell me which homework was difficult.
7. どれがおいしいかまずいかさっぱりわかりません。
Dore ga oishii ka mazui ka sappari wakarimasen.
I have no idea which is delicious and which is nasty.
8. この生物は何か教えてください。
Kono seibutsu wa nani ka oshiete kudasai.
Please tell me what creature this is.
9. 七夕はいつか知っていますか。
Tanabata wa itsu ka shitte imasu ka?
Do you know when Tanabata is?
Culture Note: Tanabata 七夕, also known as the Star Festival, is a Japanese festival that celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime 織姫 and Hikoboshi 彦星 represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively.
Ka dō ka かどうか
To express “whether (…)or not,” you can substitute what “not” would stand for with dō ka どうか. This gives rise to the phrase ka dō ka かどうか.
10. 妻が寝ているか起きているか分からない。
Tsuma ga nete iru ka okite iru ka wakaranai.
I don’t know whether my wife is asleep or awake?
11. 妻が寝いているかどうか分からない。
Tsuma ga nete iru ka dō ka wakaranai.
I don’t know whether or not my wife is asleep.
12. （私は、）彼女が虫が嫌いかどうかわかりません。
(Watashi wa,) kanojo ga mushi ga kirai ka dō ka wakarimasen.
I don’t know whether or not she hates bugs.
13. 夫が本当に幸せかどうか分かりません。
Otto ga hontō ni shiawase ka dō ka wakarimasen.
I really don’t know whether or not my husband is really happy.
Without the dō ka どうか, you create a sentence that asks “if” something is so.
14. お風呂が十分に熱いかどうか確かめてください。
Ofuro ga jūbun ni atsui ka dō ka tashikamete kudasai.
Please check whether or not the bath is hot enough.
15. お風呂が十分に熱いか確かめてください。
Ofuro ga jūbun ni atsui ka tashikamete kudasai.
Please check if the bath is hot enough.
16. きょうは、あの店の素麺が本当にまずいか調査します。
Kyō wa, ano mise no sōmen ga hontō ni mazui ka chōsa shimasu.
Today, I will investigate if that place’s somen really is disgusting.
Indirect Questions are Noun-Like
In Japanese, whenever there is a quantifier that follows ka か, it will refer to the noun phrase embedded in the indirect question.
17. 山口さんは誰が歌ったか大体知っているでしょう。
Yamaguchi-san wa dare ga utatta ka daitai shitte iru deshō.
Mr/M(r)s. Yamaguchi probably knows for the most part who sang.
Word Note: Daitai 大体 corresponds to the quantity of people dare 誰 refers to.
18. 私は何が届いたか全部知っています。
Watashi wa nani ga todoita ka zembu shitte imasu.
I know all of what has arrived.
Word Note: Zembu 全部 corresponds to the quantity of things nani 何refers to.
This demonstrates that embedded questions end up functioning like nouns thanks to か. This can be further demonstrated by how other particles can follow it.
19. 警察は誰が犯行現場にいたか（を）調べています。
Keisatsu wa dare ga hankō gemba ni ita ka wo shirabete imasu.
The police are investigating who was at the crime scene.
20. どんな状態になるかに注目してください。
Don’na jōtai ni naru ka ni chūmoku shite kudasai.
Pay attention to what sort of situation it becomes.
21. 古いかどうかを調べる方法
Furui ka dō ka wo shiraberu hōhō
Method of investigating whether or not it’s old
22. ないものはしょうがないですが、明日の時点で発送する端末は来週水曜までに札幌に到着するかが知りたいです。
Nai mono wa shōga nai desu ga, asu no jiten de hassō suru tammatsu wa raishū suiyō made ni Sapporo ni tōchaku suru ka ga shiritai desu.
The ones you don’t have can’t be helped, but I want to know if the devices that you will ship as of tomorrow will make it by Wednesday next week to Sapporo.
Grammar Note: The ending -tai ～たい is an ending that denotes personal want to do something, and it conjugates, interestingly enough, as an adjective. We will learn more about it later in IMABI.
No ka のか
In our last discussion on ka か, we learned that the no の in no ka のか adds weight to the question one is making. In other words, it makes your concern serious. Now, what determines the overall civility of your question is all based on what else is added to the sentence, but putting that aside, this same principle applies to embedded questions as well.
23. 存在意義は何なのか教えてください。
Sonzai igi wa nan na no ka oshiete kudasai.
Please tell me what exactly the meaning of life is.
24. 何が何かはほとんどわかりません。
Nani ga nani ka wa hotondo wakarimasen.
I hardly understand what is what.
25. 何を言っているのかわからない。
Nani wo itte iru no ka wakaranai.
I don’t understand what you’re saying.
When you use ka か all on its own, the level of uncertainty you are portraying is more or less at about 20%. You aren’t sure, so you’re asking a question, but your level of uncertainty is neither pressing nor significant in the least. This helps explain the tone of all the examples of it thus far in this lesson.
26. 次の相手は誰かわかりません。
Tsugi no aite wa dare ka wakarimasen.
I don’t know who my next opponent is.
27. 次の相手は誰なのかわかりません。
Tsugi no aite wa dare na no ka wakarimasen.
I really don’t know who my next opponent is.
The use of no ka のか raises the level of one’s uncertainty to 50%. When the particle ka か is directly after a question word, it first and foremost shows that something is uncertain. As such, in Ex. 26 …the fact that one has an opponent is just what is uncertain about the situation. With the change to no ka のか, your attention is shifting toward suspicion as to who will really be one’s opponent.
28. 誰が盗んだのか知りませんか。
Dare ga nusunda no ka shirimasen ka?
Would you happen to know who stole it?
29. ここは生鮮食料品が安いのか、すごく混んでいます。
Koko wa seisen shokuryōhin ga yasui no ka, sugoku konde imasu.
Whether it’s because fresh produce is cheap, but it is really crowded here.
30. 運用している人が少ないのか、インターネットに情報がほとんどありません。
Un’yō shite iru hito ga sukunai no ka, intānetto ni jōhō ga hotondo arimasen.
Whether it’s because there are few people running it, there is hardly any information online.
Question Word + ka か
In speaking of ka か attaching to questions to show uncertainty, consider the follow phrases that are created when “question + ka か” is not used at the end of the sentence.・Dareka 誰か = Someone・Nanika 何か = Something・Itsuka いつか = Sometime ・Dokoka どこか = Somewhere・Dōka どうか = Somehow or other
Their parts of speech are just like the question words that make them up. Dareka 誰か, nanika 何か, and dokoka どこか can either be used as nouns or adverbs. This means that ga が and wo を will always be optional if applicable. Itsuka いつか and dōka どうか on the other hand are only used as adverbs and never take these particles.
31. いつかきっと、世界が一つになる日が来る。
Itsuka kitto, sekai ga hitotsu ni naru hi ga kuru.
Someday surely, the day in which the world becomes one will arrive.
32. あの子は粘土で何か（を）作った。
Ano ko wa nendo de nanika (wo) tsukutta.
That child made something with clay.
33. 今週は、旦那がある本を買いにどこかへ行った。
Konshū wa, dan’na ga aru hon wo kai ni dokoka e itta.
This week, my husband went somewhere to buy a certain book.
34. どうか許してください。
Dōka yurushite kudasai.
Please forgive me.
Da ka だか
Say you are even more doubtful and or suspicious about the situation. In which case, rather than using ka か or no ka のか, you can actually use da ka だか. This is when it becomes appropriate to have the particle ka か follow the copula da だ. The level of one’s uncertainty with this is about 80%.
Da ka だか attaches to nouns and adjectival nouns with no modification done to either side. With other parts of speech, you will need to insert n/no ん・の between it and a verb/adjective, giving n da ka んだか・no da ka のだか.
35. 次の相手は誰だかわかりません。
Tsugi no aite wa dare da ka wakarimasen.
I have no clue who my next opponent is.
36. 僕は、あいつが本当に女だかわからないんですよ。
Boku wa, aitsu ga hontō ni on’na da ka wakaranai n desu yo.
I really have no clue if that guy is a woman.
37. 相手がゲイだかわからない。
Aite ga gei da ka wakaranai.
I sure don’t know if my partner/the person (I’m dealing with) is gay.
80% uncertainty is not a guarantee. In the example below, the question posed is simply drawing the listener in to elicit a response for the speaker to then say yea or nay.
38. この世で最高に綺麗なものは何だか知ってます？
Kono yo de saikō ni kirei na mono wa nan da ka shittemasu?
Do you what the prettiest thing in the world is?
Nandaka 何だか can also be used as an adverb meaning “a little/somewhat/rather.”
39. この辺は何だか静かですね。
Kono hen wa nandaka shizuka desu ne.
This area is rather quiet, isn’t it?
40. 何だか眠い。
Nandaka nemui.
I’m a little tired.
N da ka んだか
Showing 80-100% indecisiveness/uncertainty is possible with n da ka んだか, especially in the pattern “A…n da ka + B…n da ka (A…んだか＋B…んだか).” The “A” and “B” can be a noun, adjective, adjectival noun, or verb. If it’s a noun or adjectival noun, you will need to place na な before n da ka んだか. For adjectives and verbs, this pattern becomes indistinguishable from the previous one, which is why it may or may not show absolute indecisiveness.
41. 安いんだか、高いんだか、もうわからないんですよ。
Yasui n da ka, takai n da ka, mō wakaranai n desu yo.
I have no idea if whether it’s cheap or expensive.
42. 主人公は一体誰なんだかわからない。
Shujinkō wa ittai dare na n da ka wakaranai.
I have no earthly idea who the protagonist is.
43. 少ないんだか、多いんだか分からなくなるよな。
Sukunai n da ka, ōi n da ka wakaranaku naru yo na.
You end up not having a clue if there’s little or a lot of it, you know.
Particle Note: The particle na な at the end of this sentence is used similarly to ending a sentence with “you know” in English.
Or
As you can see, using more than one n da ka んだか is used to show a desperate/completely indecisive “whether…or…” This, though, is used in the sense of making heads or tails of a situation, not as in presenting indecisiveness on a benign decision.
In the same light, all the other patterns shown in this lesson can be used the same way with various degrees of uncertainty implied.
| Pattern | Uncertainty | Note |
| …ka…ka ～か～か | 0~20% | Simply lists options. |
| …no ka…no ka ～のか～のか | 50% | A rather confident yet uncertain “or.” |
| …da ka…da ka ～だか～だか | 80% | Very uncertain and suspicious “or.” |
| …n da ka…n da ka ～んだか～んだか | 100% | Completely indecisive “or.” |
As for “…ka…ka (～か～か),” the final ka か isn’t there if you’re just listing options of an action/situation unless you are actually questioning something. It’s when you list situations/actions that both ka か are needed.
44. 生の水道水か沸騰した水道水かお茶か、どれが一番健康にいいんですか。
Nama no suidōsui ka futtō shita suidōsui ka ocha ka, dore ga ichiban kenkō ni ii n desu ka?
Which is the healthiest, plain tap water, boiled tap water, or tea?
45. 水かミルクを飲んでください。
Mizu ka miruku wo nonde kudasai.
Drink water or milk.
46. すしか刺し身を注文してください。
Sushi ka sashimi wo chūmon shite kudasai.
Order either sushi or sashimi.
47. 公園に行くか、デパートに行くかですね。
Kōen ni iku ka, depāto ni iku ka desu ne.
Either go to the park or go to the department store, right?
48. 東京では男だか女だか分からない人が多いの？
Tōkyō de wa otoko da ka on’na da ka wakaranai hito ga ōi no?
Are there are lot of people in Tokyo you can’t tell whether they’re a man or a woman?
49. 寒いのか暑いのか分からないんじゃないの？
Samui no ka atsui no ka wakaranai n ja nai no?
You don’t know whether it’s cold or hot (outside)?
50. もう誰が死ぬんだか、みんな死ぬんだかわからない。
Mō dare ga shinu n da ka, min’na shinu n da ka wakaranai.
I have no idea anymore who’s going to die or if everyone’s going to die.