To get full access, please Login or Register
For the Latest Talk, open the Chat Popup
Dictionary (New!)
Enter the word to look up:
Kanji Lookup
Enter Kanji to look up:
[+] Advanced search
v Advertisment
 
Questions - ka Print E-mail

A sentence is made into a question by placing the particle ka at the end. This works for both polite sentences (ending with desu) and plain sentences.

But note that, in casual Japanese, the sentence ending ka can be omitted, and only indicated by a slight raise of tone in the end of the sentence. Casual questions can also be done using no in the end of the sentence, for example taberu no.

However, the basic patterns of questions are described in the following table:

Pattern
 Japanese Example
[verb] ka.  
見ますか。
Mimasu ka.
Do (you) see (it)?
見ませんか。
Mimasen ka.
Don't (you) see (it)?  
見ましたか。
Mimashita ka.
Did (you) see (it)?
[clause] ka.   トラコがねずみを見ましたか。
Torako ga nezumi o mimashita ka.
Did Torako see a mouse?

[plain clause]?

 

Tabeta? (raised tone in the end)
Did you eat?

[plain clause] no?

 

Tabeta no? (raised tone in the end)
Did you eat? (casual)   


This page is a modified version, based on "Some Notes on Japanese Grammar" published for your personal use, with the kind permission of Keith Smillie (http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~smillie/)
 

v Advertisment

JLPT