I wonder
Structure
Sentence + かな
[sentence-ending particle]
Why is は instead of を used in this example sentence?
大分元気になったから、薬は飲まなくていいかな。
I wonder if it is okay not to take any medicine, because I feel much better.
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@deltacat3 The は here is placing more emphasis on 薬. It would be more like saying, “As for the medicine (that I got from the pharmacy), I wonder if it is alright that I don’t take it,” rather than “I wonder if it is alright that I don’t take medicine (of any kind).” Does that make sense? Cheers!
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@Pushindawood Ah, that is quite a simple concept! Although, I was under the assumption that it was common practice to combine particles to get this effect. Such as 「には、では、への、etc…」. So does this mean that there is a limit to which particles can be replaced with は to highlight/emphasise?
I think I may have just opened a long neglected can of worms. (o_Oメ)
Would you consider adding the negative (ない＋かな）to either this entry or separately? I believe the inflection changes to “I hope”
Edit: There is also the ないのかな that also keeps the “wonder if not/it isn’t” meaning but then it can switch without the の (“I wonder if true or not”) or then it can turn into the aforementioned “I hope”. Could you guys consider a separate entry for this grammar point given the multiple meanings?
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Not sure if it’s relevant enough, but could the hiragana switch to the kanji version when hovering over this grammar point?
It’s this one if I’m not mistaken?
@Pep95 Hey! While 哉 is technically the kanji that is associated with this grammar point, it is almost never used in day-to-day speech/writing. 哉 is mostly reserved for 短歌 (Japanese poems) or 俳句 (haikus). Cheers!
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Hello my question is not for the かな。 but the のかな part of some of the examples.
exp. 君は何を考えているのかな。
Am I right to asume that the の indicates a question?
What exactly is the diffence between sentenses with and without の?
I also wonder if it’s possible to reprase the の with a か.
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A little late, but I had the same question, but I found the answer when reading about the use of かな on MaggieSensei’s website:
https://maggiesensei.com/2014/05/26/how-to-use-〜かな-kana/
Note: If you want to stress uncertainty or your doubt, about whether you can do something or not, you add の(=no)
→のかな ( = no kana)
(after a noun, na-adjective add なの ( = nano)
I believe this should be mentioned in this bunpro lesson.
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I also got very confused with the の used with some of the examples =/.
I could not tell where it came from. At first I thought it was nominalization, but it doesn´t seen to be the case.
Just to clarify here, the の in のかな is the same as the one in the so-called ‘explanatory’ or ‘contextual’ -んです-のです grammar point (which also is technically a nominalizer or ‘dummy noun’, but it’s a specific usage of it).
This can be a tricky point to understand because it doesn’t necessarily show up in a natural English translation, but the point is that it’s always connecting what’s being said to something in the larger context.
A relatively straightforward example I like to use is: say you’re at the office and need to ask a co-worker something. If he seems busy typing something at his computer and you genuinely weren’t sure if it was okay or not, you might say, あっ、すみません。ちょっといいですか？ (or ちょっといいかな？ if you were relatively close friends as well as co-workers and around the same age).
On the other hand, if you approached him, and he noticed you and kind of nodded or suggested in some way that he was ready to answer your question, then you could naturally say あっ、いいんですか？ (or いいのかな？ in more casual speech). The の・ん adds the nuance that you’re not just asking the question in a vacuum, but rather reacting to or addressing the context, i.e. ‘Does that (your action) mean that it’s okay?’.
The idea of ‘stressing’ uncertainty is a little vague for my liking (though I generally have a high opinion of MaggieSensei’s explanations), but I can see what she’s getting at. I tend to think of it as more ‘probing’ the situation, there’s a certain context or something that you’re observing, and you’re seeking an explanation of or further clarification of the context/situation.
Again, it can be very tricky because it’s not something we necessarily express with specific words or grammar in English, but the TL;DR answer is that this の・ん is always somehow connecting the rest of the sentence to a certain context or situation as opposed to just making a statement or asking a question in a vacuum.