Learn about the question-marking particle
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| Hi, everyone. |
| Welcome to the Ultimate Japanese Particle Guide. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn the particle... |
| か (ka) |
| This particle is often referred to as the question particle, because it usually comes at the end of a sentence and turns it into a question. |
| Unlike question sentences in English, when a statement becomes a question in Japanese, the word order stays the same. |
| Let's see how it functions in a sentence. Risa, how do you say "Ken is Japanese"? |
| ケンは日本人です。(Ken wa Nihon-jin desu) |
| So to ask “Is Ken Japanese?”... |
| ...all you have to do is add か (ka) at the end of the sentence. |
| ケンは日本人ですか？(Ken wa Nihon-jin desu ka?) |
| It's very simple, but be sure to use the rising intonation. Let's hear it again. |
| ケンは日本人ですか。(Ken wa Nihon-jin desu ka.) |
| In English, you have to change the word order. For example “Ken is Japanese” changes to “Is Ken Japanese?” But in Japanese, you don't have to do that... |
| ...just add か (ka) to the sentence. |
| Let’s do one more example. How do you say “Ken can speak Japanese”? |
| ケンは日本語ができます。(Ken wa Nihongo ga dekimasu.) |
| And to ask “Can Ken speak Japanese?” |
| ケンは日本語ができますか。(Ken wa Nihongo ga dekimasu ka.) |
| Now those sentences that we just gave were all formal sentences. How about informal sentences? |
| It’s a little bit different. - you just add の (no) at the end of the sentence in plain form." |
| For example, クミは英語がわかる。(Kumi wa Eigo ga wakaru.) |
| becomes クミは英語がわかるの？（Kumi wa Eigo ga wakaru no?） |
| So people often use の (no) instead. |
| Let's take a look at a few more examples. |
| 今夜、予定がありますか。 (Konya, yotei ga arimasu ka.) |
| “Do you have any plans tonight?” |
| 日本は初めてですか。 (Nihon wa hajimete desu ka.) |
| “Is this your first time in Japan?” |
| イタリア料理はおいしいですか。 (Itaria ryōri wa oishii desu ka.) |
| “Is Italian food delicious?” |
| This particle can also indicate alternatives. |
| It comes after choices. We often omit the last "ka." |
| It corresponds to "or" in English. Let's see how it functions in a sentence. |
| 紅茶かコーヒーが飲みたいです。(Kōcha ka kōhī ga nomitai desu.) |
| This means "I want to drink tea or coffee." Let's break it down. First we have... |
| 紅茶かコーヒー (Kōcha ka kōhī) |
| This means "tea or coffee." Notice how the particle comes after the first choice. |
| Following that, we have the particle that marks an object of desire. |
| が (ga) |
| Finally, we have the verb in the -tai form, which expresses desire. |
| 飲みたいです (nomitai desu.) |
| Let's take a look at a few more examples with the same particle used as an alternative marker. |
| 車かバイクで広島に行きたいです。(Kuruma ka baiku de Hiroshima ni ikitai desu.) |
| "I would like to go to Hiroshima by car or bike." |
| 明日か明後日、荷物が届きます。(Ashita ka asatte, nimotsu ga todokimasu.) |
| "The parcel will arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." |
| 紅茶か緑茶かコーヒーがあります。(Kōcha ka ryokucha ka kōhī ga arimasu.) |
| “There is tea, green tea, or coffee.” |
| Now, let's use what you learned in this lesson. |
| We learned how to say “Is Ken Japanese?” |
| ケンは日本人ですか。(Ken wa Nihon-jin desu ka.) |
| When the particle か (ka) comes at the end of a sentence, it turns it into a question. So, the structure is... |
| [sentence] か (ka) |
| Now let's try with "Is today Friday?" |
| Here are the words for "today" and "Friday." |
| 今日 (kyō) |
| 金曜日(kin-yōbi) |
| The affirmative sentence "Today is Friday" is... |
| 今日は金曜日です。(Kyō wa kin-yōbi desu) |
| Try to say "Is today Friday?" in Japanese. [pause] |
| The answer is... |
| 今日は金曜日ですか。(Kyō wa kin-yōbi desu ka.) |
| Did you get it right? In this sentence, the particle か (ka) marks a question. |
| Let's try one more. We also learned how to say "I want to drink tea or coffee." |
| 紅茶かコーヒーが飲みたいです。(Kōcha ka kōhī ga nomitai desu.) |
| Here the particle か (ka) marks alternatives, meaning "or." The structure is... |
| [item 1] か (ka) [item 2] |
| Now let's try with "I want to eat ramen or pasta." |
| Here are the words for "ramen" and "pasta." |
| ラーメン (rāmen) |
| パスタ(pasuta) |
| Try to say "I want to eat ramen or pasta" in Japanese. [pause] |
| The answer is... |
| ラーメンかパスタが食べたいです。(Rāmen ka pasuta ga tabetai desu.) |
| Well done! In this case, the particle か (ka) marks an alternative, ramen or pasta! |
| In this lesson, you learned about the particle... |
| か |
| In the next lesson, you'll learn about the particle... |
| も |
| See you in the next lesson. Bye! |
| Bye~ |
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