か

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. これは何ですか。▶ —
   What is this?
2. コーヒーか紅茶を飲む。▶ —
   I'll have coffee or tea.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Ka (か) is the Japanese sentence-final question particle plus "or" and "uncertainty" marker. (1) Question ("kore wa nan desu ka?" what is this?) — most basic; (2) choice ("koohii ka koucha" coffee or tea, like English "or"); (3) uncertainty ("dare ka kita" someone came, "nani ka tabetai" want to eat something, "itsuka aou" let's meet sometime) — question word + ka equals "some + question word"; (4) indirect question ("iku ka douka" whether to go or not). Register: "desu ka / masu ka" is polite or formal; bare "...ka?" is casual or downward. In conversation, rising intonation alone ("koohii?") replaces ka. Korean -kka / -inga maps but Korean -kka is question-only, while Japanese ka covers question / choice / uncertainty all in one. English ? / or / some all map to ka. Chinese splits among 吗 / 呢 / 什么的 — Japanese's single ka aids learning efficiency.

Quick check

1. Difference between "dare ka kita" and "dare ga kita"?

   • ka = "someone came" (uncertainty); ga = "who came?" (question)
   • Synonyms
   • Honorific vs humble
   • Past vs present