かな (JLPT N4)

About かな

Originally a mixture of the sentence ending particles か, and な, かな evolved over time to become its own (singular) sentence ending particle, which roughly translates as 'I wonder if (A)?'.

As it is a sentence ending particle, かな can be added to the end of almost any sentence.

Combining the meanings か and な, we can see where かな gets its original meaning. か presents questions (usually to other people), while な shows that a statement is related purely to the speaker's own thoughts/opinions. In this way, かな expresses that the speaker's own thoughts are being questioned.

Fun Fact

In the past, かな was thought of as being a fairly feminine way to express 'I wonder', and males tended to use phrases like だろうか to express the same type of statement. However, in modern day Japanese, かな is used by both men and women equally.

この通帳(つうちょう)はお母(かあ)さんのだろうか。

I wonder if this is my mother's checkbook. (Slightly masculine)
あの人(ひと)は本当(ほんとう)に弁護士(べんごし)なのかな。

I wonder if that person is really a lawyer. (Commonly used by anybody)

Examples

--:--

もうすぐ食(た)べに行(い)くかな。

I wonder if we will go eat soon...

明日(あした)は運動(うんどう)をした方(ほう)がいいかな。

I wonder, if I should exercise tomorrow...

今週末(こんしゅうまつ)に友達(ともだち)と会(あ)えるかな。

I wonder if I can meet my friends this weekend...

冷蔵庫(れいぞうこ)にケーキまだあるかな。

I wonder if there is still cake in the fridge.

お母(かあ)さんは何(なに)をくれるかな。

I wonder what my mom will give me.

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かな – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (8 in total)

Pushindawood

I wonder

Structure
Sentence + かな

View on Bunpro

[sentence-ending particle]
deltacat3
Why is は instead of を used in this example sentence?

大分元気になったから、薬は飲まなくていいかな。
I wonder if it is okay not to take any medicine, because I feel much better.
Pushindawood
@deltacat3 The は here is placing more emphasis on 薬. It would be more like saying, “As for the medicine (that I got from the pharmacy), I wonder if it is alright that I don’t take it,” rather than “I wonder if it is alright that I don’t take medicine (of any kind).” Does that make sense? Cheers!
deltacat3
@Pushindawood Ah, that is quite a simple concept! Although, I was under the assumption that it was common practice to combine particles to get this effect. Such as 「には、では、への、etc…」. So does this mean that there is a limit to which particles can be replaced with は to highlight/emphasise?

I think I may have just opened a long neglected can of worms. (o_Oメ)
s1212z
Would you consider adding the negative (ない＋かな）to either this entry or separately? I believe the inflection changes to “I hope”

Edit: There is also the ないのかな that also keeps the “wonder if not/it isn’t” meaning but then it can switch without the の (“I wonder if true or not”) or then it can turn into the aforementioned “I hope”. Could you guys consider a separate entry for this grammar point given the multiple meanings?
Pep95
Not sure if it’s relevant enough, but could the hiragana switch to the kanji version when hovering over this grammar point?

It’s this one if I’m not mistaken?

WaniKani

WaniKani, a kanji learning application by Tofugu

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Pushindawood
@Pep95 Hey! While 哉 is technically the kanji that is associated with this grammar point, it is almost never used in day-to-day speech/writing. 哉 is mostly reserved for 短歌 (Japanese poems) or 俳句 (haikus). Cheers!
Mipri
Hello my question is not for the かな。 but the のかな part of some of the examples.
exp. 君は何を考えているのかな。
Am I right to asume that the の indicates a question?
What exactly is the diffence between sentenses with and without の?
I also wonder if it’s possible to reprase the の with a か.
ThiagoIanuch
A little late, but I had the same question, but I found the answer when reading about the use of かな on MaggieSensei’s website:

https://maggiesensei.com/2014/05/26/how-to-use-〜かな-kana/

Note: If you want to stress uncertainty or your doubt, about whether you can do something or not, you add の(=no)

→のかな ( = no kana)

(after a noun, na-adjective add なの ( = nano)

I believe this should be mentioned in this bunpro lesson.