English translation:
what is…again?
was it… that… ?
did you say…?
Structure:
Verb[ た ] + っけ
Verb[ る ] + ん/の + だ/だった + っけ
いAdj[い] + かった + っけ
Noun + だ / だった + っけ
なAdj + だ/だった + っけ*
Explanation:
[Informal question marker. Used mostly when speaker has trouble with recalling something・is unsure about something and seeks confirmation of the hearer.“What was that thing called?” type of questions.]
Why would っけ be used in this context? I don’t think the speaker actually forgot that this happened, and I don’t think she is trying to seek confirmation.
MANGA: あずきちゃん（４）
I am not sure if this is a speech bubble, but it seems like the person saying this in their head and trying to remember if they went to 初詣 with 竜一. This sentence sort of has the nuance of, ‘I went to hatsumoude with Ryuichi last year…right?’
If you check out the fun fact section of this grammar point it says, 'け will sound equally natural when asking a rhetorical question to yourself, or when directly asking another person about something that you have forgotten. '.
Hope that answers your question!
Yes, she is talking to herself. The nuance you provided makes more sense to me. Thank you so much!
A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar (ADAJG) notes that っけ is also used for nostalgic recollection. The Maggie Sensei link briefly mentions this as well. I think that usage would fit better in this scenario.
