Meaning
Add か at the end of a polite sentence to ask a question. Japanese does not need a question mark. Between two nouns, か means “or”: コーヒーか紅茶 is “coffee or tea”.
Formation
How to build this grammar pattern, with an example for each case.
| Use | Structure | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes/no | Sentence か | 学生ですか。 | Are you a student? |
| Question word | Q-word … か | 何を食べますか。 | What do you eat? |
| Or | A か B | コーヒーか紅茶 | coffee or tea |
Usage notes
No question mark
In writing the sentence can end with か。 instead of ？.
Answer
Answer with はい or いいえ and then the verb or noun.
Choice
A か B means A or B.
Example sentences
学生ですか。
Are you a student?
何を飲みますか。
What do you drink?
明日来ますか。
Are you coming tomorrow?
コーヒーか紅茶を飲みます。
I will drink coffee or tea.
駅はどこですか。
Where is the station?
Common mistakes
✗ Incorrect学生ですが。
✓ Correct学生ですか。
か (question) and が (but, subject) look alike. Check the sound: ka.
✗ Incorrectはい、行きますか。
✓ Correctはい、行きます。
Answer with the verb only. か belongs to the question.
Similar grammar
ね
Seeking agreement
いい天気ですね。 Nice weather, isn’t it?よ
Giving new information
行きますよ。 I am going, you know.や
Lists examples
本やペンがあります。 There are books, pens and so on.Quick quiz
1. 学生です（ ）。
2. 何を食べます（ ）。
3. コーヒー（ ）紅茶を飲みます。
4. 駅はどこです（ ）。
5. How do you answer 学生ですか?
6. In A か B, か means…
7. 明日来ます（ ）。
8. Which ending makes a polite question?
9. 今、何時です（ ）。
10. Where does か go in a question?
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a question mark?
No. か already marks the question. Many Japanese texts end with か。 but ？ is also fine in casual writing.
How do I ask casually?
Drop か and raise your voice: 行く？ Are you going? In polite speech keep か.