What is “kana” in Japanese?
In this blog post, I will explain “kana” as one particle-like word, not as the phonetic characters written above kanji. So, please be careful.
From the grammatical point of view, “kana” is the combination of “ka” and “na”, but widely used as one particle in various situations. In this blog post, therefore, I will explain it as particle. Native speakers use it mainly in the three different ways: to express uncertainty; to talk to oneself; to express desire. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “kana” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- “Kana” to express uncertainty
- “Kana” to talk to oneself
- “Kana” to express desire
- Summary: “kana” in Japanese
“Kana” to express uncertainty
Let me start with “kana” used to express uncertainty in Japanese.
- kana – かな : used like a sentence-ending particle to express the uncertainty about what a sentence states.
Native speakers use this particle at the end of a sentence to express the uncertainty about what the sentence states. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but its role is, in a way, similar to those of the English modal verbs like “may”, “might”, and the like. It can work to lower the degree of the certainty of a sentence.
Then, let me explain how to use this type of “kana” through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to express uncertainty with “kana”
ashita kare wa gakkou ni kuru kana – 明日彼は学校に来るかな (あしたかれはがっこうにくるかな)
I wonder if he will come to school tomorrow.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, this works as an adverb at the beginning of the sentence to say “tomorrow” in Japanese.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kare” to make the subject in the sentence.
- gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning ‘school’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “gakkou” to say where “kare” will come tomorrow.
- kuru – 来る (くる) : a verb meaning ‘to come’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of this type of “kana”. In the example, it works at the end of the sentence to express the uncertainty about what the sentence states. The speakers is not sure if “kare” will come to school tomorrow, so needs the help of “kana” to lower the certainty of the sentence. It has been reflected as “to wonder” in the translation.
“Kana” to talk to oneself
Next, let me explain “kana” used to talk to oneself in Japanese.
- kana – かな : used like a sentence-ending particle to talk to oneself in Japanese.
This type of “kana” is similar to the last one. It’s related to uncertainty. Sometimes, we state something with a sentence, but we are not sure if we really do so. This is the case we can use this particle-like word. Actually, native speakers add this “kana” to the end of a sentence when they are not sure if they will do what they state with the sentence. This kind of sentence sometimes sounds like a soliloquy.
The difference of this type and the last one is whether a sentence states something about the speaker or not. When a sentence contains something about speaker’s self, this type of “kana” should work well to express its uncertainty and to talk to himself/herself out loud.
Then, let me explain this usage through the example sentence.
Example #2: how to talk to oneself with “kana”
mou neyo u kana – もう寝ようかな (もうねようかな)
I think I’ll go to bed now.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- mou – もう : an adverb meaning ‘now’, ‘soon’, ‘already’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this has been translated as “now”.
- neyo – 寝よ (ねよ) : one conjugation of the verb, “neru”, which means ‘to sleep’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- u – う : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make its volitional form. In the example, this is used after “neyo” to make its volitional form, “neyo u”, which means ‘will go to bed’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of this type of “kana”. In this example, it works again at the end of the sentence to express the uncertainty. The speaker thinks he/she will go to bed, but is not one hundred percent sure about what he/she has just stated with the sentence. As I explained, this sentence can sound like a soliloquy.
“Kana” to express desire
Lastly, let me explain “kana” used to express desire.
- kana – かな : used like a sentence-ending particle to express desire.
Native speakers use this type of “kana” at the end of a sentence to express their desires. This use case is often found in negative sentences. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to express desire with “kana”
kyou kanojo mo ko nai kana – 今日彼女も来ないかな (きょうかのじょもこないかな)
I hope she will come today, too.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, it works as an adverb at the beginning of the sentence to say “today” in Japanese.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- mo – も : an binding particle working to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘too’, ‘also’, or ‘as well’. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence with adding the meaning of ‘too’.
- ko – 来 (こ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kuru”, which means ‘to come’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. In the example, this is used after “ko” to deny its meaning, ‘to come’.
This is a typical usage of this type of “kana”. In the example, it works at the end of the sentence to express the desire of wanting her visit. Again, but this type is often used in negative sentences. In this example, it actually works together with “nai” which works to deny the meaning of its preceding word.
Summary: “kana” in Japanese
In this blog post, I’ve explained the three different types of “kana”. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kana – かな : used like a sentence-ending particle to express the uncertainty about what a sentence states. Native speakers use this particle at the end of a sentence to express the uncertainty about what the sentence states. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this word is, in a way, similar to those of the English modal verbs like “may”, “might”, and the like. It can work to lower the degree of the certainty of a sentence.
- kana – かな : used like a sentence-ending particle to talk to oneself in Japanese. This type of “kana” is similar to the first one. It’s related to uncertainty. Sometimes, we state something with a sentence, but we are not sure if we really do so. This is the case we can use this particle-like word. Actually, native speakers add this “kana” to the end of a sentence when they are not sure if they will do what they state with the sentence. This kind of sentence sometimes sounds like a soliloquy.
- kana – かな : used like a sentence-ending particle to express desire. Native speakers use this type of “kana” at the end of a sentence to express their desires. This use case is often found in negative sentences.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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