かな (kana)

Meaning & usage

かな adds a wondering tone to a question the speaker asks themselves, often followed by と思う or って思う when reporting that thought. It follows plain-form sentences, with の inserted before な (のかな) after nouns and na-adjectives. It is casual, used in spoken or informal writing.

Example sentences 8

1. みんなもそうなのかな、と思おもうことくらいしかできない。

   I can only wonder if this is the same for everyone else.

2. 明日、時間があるかなって思ってたんだけど・・・。

   I was wondering if you were free tomorrow.

3. 彼の言葉にはどこかなぞめいた意味があるようだ。

   There seems to be some dark meaning in his words.

4. 今日君は来るのかなと思っていたところだよ。

   I was wondering if you were going to show up today.

5. 次の日曜日ぼくとつき合ってもらえないかな。

   I wonder if you'd like to go out with me this Sunday.

6. 最近、いくら寝ても眠い。なんか、変な病気にでもかかったのかな。

   Lately it seems that no matter how much I sleep, I stay tired. I wonder if I've come down with something strange.

7. 東京行きはどの列車に乗ったらよいのかな。

   I wonder which train I should take for Tokyo.

8. 早速本題に入るけど、飲み会の件なんだ。今週の金曜日あいてるかな。

   Anyway, to get to what I wanted to ask you...it's about the party. Are you free Friday?