By ProDev Teach | Updated May 2025
📘 Meaning & Usage
The particle か is used at the end of a sentence to indicate a question in Japanese.
- It is used in both formal and informal contexts, but often combined with polite forms like です or ます.
- There is no need to change the word order like in English. Just add か to the end of a sentence.
🔍 Structure
[Sentence] + か
Examples:
- 学生ですか。
Gakusei desu ka?
Are you a student? - これは本ですか。
Kore wa hon desu ka?
Is this a book?
📝 Example Sentences
- あなたは先生ですか。
Anata wa sensei desu ka?
Are you a teacher? - これは日本語ですか。
Kore wa Nihongo desu ka?
Is this Japanese? - 猫が好きですか。
Neko ga suki desu ka?
Do you like cats? - 行きますか。
Ikimasu ka?
Are you going?
📚 Grammar Notes
- In informal speech, people often drop か and just use rising intonation to indicate a question.
- In writing or formal situations, か is required to clearly indicate a question.
- For “yes” and “no” questions, you don’t need to change sentence structure — just add か.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Make questions using か:
- これはペン（＿＿）。
- あなたは学生（＿＿）。
- 日本に行きます（＿＿）。
✔ Answers:
- これはペンですか。
- あなたは学生ですか。
- 日本に行きますか。
2. Translate into Japanese:
- Is this your book?
- Do you like sushi?
- Are you going to school tomorrow?
✔ Sample Answers:
- これはあなたの本ですか。
- すしが好きですか。
- 明日学校に行きますか。
🈶 Vocabulary & Kanji Breakdown
| Word | Kanji | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 学生 | 学生 | がくせい | Student |
| 先生 | 先生 | せんせい | Teacher |
| 本 | 本 | ほん | Book |
| 猫 | 猫 | ねこ | Cat |
| 行きます | 行く | いきます | To go |
| 明日 | 明日 | あした | Tomorrow |
| 学校 | 学校 | がっこう | School |
🔗 Related Grammar
- です: Polite copula used before か
- の？: Informal question particle (used by women)
- かどうか: Whether or not (N4 grammar)
🧠 Summary
- か is used at the end of a sentence to form a question.
- It is common in both spoken and written polite Japanese.
- It does not change the word order of the sentence.
- Level: JLPT N5
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I’m a software engineer based in Japan, with experience in developing web and mobile applications. I’m passionate about technology, especially in DevOps, AI, and app development using platforms like AWS, Flutter, and Node.js. My goal is to build a website that shares knowledge about the Japanese language and IT, helping everyone learn and grow more easily in the digital era.
