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か

か: turning a sentence into a question

Add か to the end — no change in word order.
要点The idea
Put か at the end of a sentence and it becomes a question, with nothing else moved.
コーヒー を 飲(の)のみます か？koohii o nomimasu ka?
Casualコーヒー 飲(の)のむ？koohii nomu?
Do you drink coffee?
どこ で 降(お)おります か？doko de orimasu ka?Where are you getting off?
紅茶(こうちゃ)こうちゃ か コーヒーkoucha ka koohiitea or coffeeBetween nouns, か means “or”.
A先生(せんせい)せんせい です。sensei desu.(I'm) a teacher.
B先生(せんせい)せんせい です か？sensei desu ka?Are you a teacher?
Same words; か turns the statement into a question. In formal writing, Japanese often ends with 。 even after か, since the か already does the job.
Casual questions usually drop か and let the pitch rise: 食(た)たべる？ (Want to eat?). They often end in の instead, as in 何(なに)なに買(か)かったの？ (What did you buy?).
  1. A
    お茶(ちゃ)ちゃ か コーヒー、 どちら が いい です か？ocha ka koohii, dochira ga ii desu ka?Tea or coffee: which would you like?
  2. B
    じゃあ、 コーヒー を お願(ねが)ねがい します。jaa, koohii o onegai shimasu.Coffee, then, please.
  3. A
    砂糖(さとう)さとう は 入(い)いれます か？satou wa iremasu ka?Do you take sugar?
  4. B
    いいえ、 結構(けっこう)けっこう です。iie, kekkou desu.No, thank you.
Between nouns, か means “or” (お茶(ちゃ)ちゃかコーヒー); at the end of a sentence, it makes a question.

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