Lesson 3: Asking Questions & Softening with Particles

Turning Statements into Questions with か

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In English, asking a question takes a little work. 'He is a teacher' becomes 'Is he a teacher?' The word order has to change. Japanese skips all of that. To turn any statement into a yes/no question, you add one tiny particle to the very end: か.

Just Add か

[Statement] + か

Turns a statement into a yes/no question.

That's it. The word order stays the same. です stays at the end. The only thing that changes is that か at the very end signals to the listener, 'I'm asking, please answer.'

“

鈴木さんは会社員ですか。

— Is Suzuki-san an office worker?

↳ Compare this to the statement 鈴木すずきさんは会社員かいしゃいんです ('Suzuki-san is an office worker'). The only difference is the か at the end.

“

田中さんは先生ですか。

— Is Tanaka-san a teacher?

Same pattern, different topic. Once you feel the rhythm, you can ask a question about anything you can already describe.

Where's the Question Mark?

In formal Japanese writing, sentences ending in か use a regular period 。 rather than a question mark. The か itself does the work, so the ? is considered redundant. In casual writing like text messages, you will often see ? used anyway, but in textbooks and newspapers, expect 。 even at the end of questions.