Sentence Ending Particles (1)
In Japanese, there are many particles that are added to the end of a sentence. They express the speaker’s emotions, doubt, emphasis, caution, hesitation, wonder, admiration, and so on. Some sentence ending particles distinguish male or female speech. Many of them don’t translate easily.
Ka
Makes a sentence into a question. When forming a question, the word order of a sentence does not change in Japanese.
| Nihon-jin desu ka. | Are you Japanese? |
Kana/Kashira
Indicates that you are not sure about something. It can be translated as “I wonder ~”. “Kashira” is used only by women.
| Tanaka-san wa ashita kuru kana. | I wonder if Mr. Tanaka will come tomorrow. |
Na
- Prohibition. A negative imperative marker used only by men in very informal speech.
| Sonna koto o suru na! | Don’t do such a thing! |
- Casual emphasis on a decision, suggestion or opinion.
Kyou wa shigoto ni ikitakunai na. I don’t want to go to work today.
Naa
Expresses emotion, or a casual remark of wishful thinking.
| Sugoi naa. | How great it is! |
Ne/Nee
Confirmation. Indicates that the speaker wants the listener to agree or confirm. It is similar to English expressions “don’t you think so”, “isn’t it?” or “right?”.
| Ii tenki desu ne. | It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? |
