If you are a beginner and you know the question words, adding the か and も suffixes will greatly increase your working vocabulary.

Question Words

First, let's review the core question words:

Need help? Click here for more on asking questions in Japanese.

か and も suffixes

If you know the question words above, let's give your vocabulary a boost with:

- か -

"some-"; adds uncertainty

- も -

"no -"; shows absence

か "some" Suffix in Japanese

The か suffix indicates "uncertainty": "some-"

Let's take the question words you know and see what happens when we add a か:

Do you see the pattern? Adding か creates uncertainty: some

Example Sentences

Let's look at a few example sentences:

なにか something

何(なに)か食(た)べましょうか？

nanika tabemashou ka?
something | eat | let's
Shall we get something to eat?

どこか somewhere

先生(せんせい)はどこか知(し)りませんか？

sensei wa dokoka shirimasen ka?
teacher | as for | somewhere | do you know?
Do you know where the teacher is?

いつか someday

いつか日本にほんにいきたい。

itsuka nihon ni ikitai.
someday | Japan | to | want to go
I want to go to Japan someday.

だれか someone

だれか助(たす)けて！

dareka tasukete!
someone | help (me)
Someone help me!

も "no" Suffix in Japanese

The も suffix adds the "no" meaning.

Now, let's take the question words you know and see what happens when we add a も:

* The に indicates "at": "at no where"

** the いつも seems to be an exception to the rule, but really, if you think about it, "always" is "not any day." いつも can mean "never" with a negative verb.

Example Sentences

Let's look at a few example sentences:

なにも nothing

私(わたし)は、何(なに)もわからない。

watashi wa, nanimo wakaranai.
I | as for (me) | nothing | understand
I don't understand anything.

どこにも no where

こどもは、どこにもいない。

kodomo wa, doko ni mo inai.
children | as for | no where | not
There aren't any children around.

いつも always

いつもありがとう。

itsumo arigatou.
always | thank you
Thank you always.

だれも no one

パーティーにだれも来(き)ませんでした。

pa-ti- ni daremo kimasen deshita.
party | to | no one | didn't come
No one came to the party.