か
か
particle
question marker, or, whether
1.
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to form a question. With polite forms, rising intonation is optional; with plain forms, rising intonation is typical.
これは何ですか。
What is this?
明日来ますか。
Are you coming tomorrow?
日本語が分かりますか。
Do you understand Japanese?
2.
or (between options)
Used between nouns or clauses to present alternatives.
コーヒーか紅茶
coffee or tea
行くか行かないか、決めてください。
Please decide whether you're going or not.
3.
whether, if (embedded questions)
Marks embedded questions, equivalent to 'whether' or 'if' in English.
彼が来るかどうか分からない。
I don't know whether he's coming.
何を買ったか教えてください。
Please tell me what you bought.
か is the primary question-forming particle in Japanese.
MAIN USES:
1. Yes/No questions: 行きますか (Are you going?)
2. WH-questions: 何ですか (What is it?)
3. Alternative questions: AかB (A or B)
4. Embedded questions: ...かどうか (whether...)
PATTERNS:
- Sentence + か: direct question
- A か B: A or B
- Verb/Adj + か + どうか: whether or not
- Question word + か: embedded question
NOTE: In casual speech, か may be omitted and replaced by rising intonation alone. In very casual male speech, か can sound blunt.