Activities: "か (ka), かな (kana), and っけ (kke)"

Let’s have more practice on how to use か, かな, and っけ! Complete each short conversation by selecting the most appropriate option in [ brackets ].

• Katie:

  ねえ、このタオル、[! !きれいだか | !きれいか | !きれい ] ？
  Nē, kono taoru, [ kirei da ka | kirei ka | kirei ]?
  Say, is this towel clean?

  Submit

  Takashi:

  うん、きれいだよ。洗濯したばかりだから。
  Un, kirei da yo. Sentaku shita bakari dakara.
  Yeah, it’s clean. I just washed it.

• Tanaka:

  そのホテルは一人一泊５万円だそうですよ。
  Sono hoteru wa hitori ippaku goman en da sō desu yo.
  That hotel costs ¥50,000 per night.

  Yamada:

  えっ、[ !そうです | !そうですかな | !そうですか ] 。それはちょっと高いですね。
  E, [ sō desu | sō desu kana | sō desu ka ]. Sore wa chotto takai desu ne.
  Oh, is that so? That’s a bit expensive, isn’t it!

  Submit

• Jack:

  パーティーは何時に [ !始まるっけ | !始まるんだっけ | !始まったっけ ]。
  Pātii wa nanji ni [ hajimaru kke | hajimarunda kke | hajimatta kke ].
  What time does the party start?

  Submit

  Nozomi:

  ６時半よ。もう５時だから、そろそろ家を出なくちゃ。
  Rokuji han yo. Mō go ji dakara, sorosoro ie o denakucha.
  It starts at 6:30. Since it’s already 5:00, we’ve got to leave home soon.

• Mei:

  ミミはどうしてごはんを [ !食べないのかな | !食べないか | !食べませんかな ] 。
  Mimi wa dōshite gohan o [ tabenai no kana | tabenai ka | tabemasen kana ].
  I wonder why Mimi doesn’t eat her meal.

  Submit

  Dad:

  うーん、どうしてだろうね。獣医さんに電話してみよう。
  Ūn, dōshite darō ne. Jūi san ni denwa shite miyō.
  Hmmm, I’m not sure. Let’s call her vet.

Are you feeling more comfortable using か, かな, and っけ? Now let’s prepare ourselves for real-world conversations! Read each situation and figure out what to say. We have provided some vocabulary, and even started your line for you! Make sure to use either か, かな, or っけ in each case. Don't forget to put the intonation marker (➚, ➙, or ➘) at the end!

• You are writing a thank you letter to Professor Yamazaki who helped you get a great job in Tokyo. Now you are addressing the envelope and realize that you don’t remember the professor’s first name. Your roommate also knows the professor. You ask your roommate...

  下の名前[shita no namae](the first name)

  ねえ、山崎先生の。
  Nē, Yamazaki sensei no ___.

  English: Say, what was Professor Yamazaki’s first name?

  っけ is a perfect choice to indicate that our memory is uncertain.
  In the example answer, the particle は is omitted. You can also use the particle and say 下の名前は何だっけ[shita no namae wa nan da kke]. The meaning is the same.

  Submit

• You and your roommate have planned to go mountain biking tomorrow. But the weather looks ominous; it’s been raining all day today. You hope the rain will stop by tomorrow morning, but you're not quite sure. Let’s express your concern.

  やむ[yamu](to stop (when referring to rain, snow, or wind))
  明日[ashita](tomorrow)	雨[ame](rain)
  〜までに[...made ni](by …)	朝[asa](morning)

  明日の朝までに。
  Ashita no asa made ni ___.

  English: I wonder if the rain will stop by tomorrow morning.

  You hope it’ll stop raining by tomorrow morning, but you are doubtful if that’ll be the case. In such cases, かな works perfectly.
  The particle が is omitted in the example. You can use it as in 雨がやむかな[ame ga yamu kana]. The meaning is the same, but it sounds more natural without it in casual conversations.

  Submit

• Your roommate’s elder sister is a competitive basketball player. You and your roommate go to cheer for her team at a double-elimination tournament. Her team narrowly loses one game, but has another chance to advance to the semi-final. Now let’s give her some words of encouragement!

  ある[aru](to have, to exist)	まだ[mada](still)
  試合[shiai](game, match)	もうひとつ[mō hitotsu](one more, another)
  がんばってください[ganbatte kudasai](Good luck! Do your best!)

  まだもうひとつ試合が。がんばってください！
  Mada mōhitotsu shiai ga ___. Ganbatte kudasai!

  English: You still have one more game, don’t you? Good luck!

  We can use 〜じゃないですか[...ja nai desu ka] in the non-rising intonation to offer encouragement.
  If she is a younger sister of your roommate or your other friend, then you can say 〜じゃないか➙[...ja nai ka] or 〜じゃない➙[...ja nai] in the casual style. The former sounds more masculine; the latter sounds more feminine. It’s your choice.

  Submit