Structure
Verb[た]+ っけ
Verb[る]+ ん(1)だ + っけ
[い]Adjective[た]+ っけ
[な]Adjective + だった(2) + っけ
Noun + だった(2) + っけ
(1) の
(2) だ
Details
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Casual
使用域
タメ語
About っけ
け is a sentence ending particle in Japanese that is used to convey when the speaker is trying to either remember, or confirm information that they have forgotten. In this way, it is very similar to the 'again' in 'what is (A) again?'
け may only be used after the past form of the auxiliary verbs だ or た. This means that け (should) only be seen as だっけ or たっけ.
け may only be used after the past form of the auxiliary verbs だ or た. This means that け (should) only be seen as だっけ or たっけ.
- 今日の朝は朝ご飯を食べたっけ。Did I eat breakfast this morning?
- あれ、テイラーの車って青かったっけ。Um, Taylor, was your car blue, again?
- 土曜日って暇だっけ。Was I free on Saturday, again?
- あの人誰だっけ。やばい、思い出せない。Who was that again? Shoot, I can't remember.
- クミコって納豆食べれるんだっけ。Kumiko, were you able to eat natto again?
- レポートの修正は君がやってるんだっけ。You are the one editing the paper, right?
Caution
Despite the grammar rules related to っけ, the younger generation quite often uses it without the addition of んだ (especially with verbs).- トムって日本語話せるっけ。Tom, were you able to speak Japanese again?
- この道って通れるっけ。Were we able to take this road again?
Fun Fact
け will sound equally natural when asking a rhetorical question to yourself, or when directly asking another person about something that you have forgotten.- あれ、カギ掛けたっけ。Umm, did I lock the door? (Asking oneself)
- あそこのレストランって犬を連れていけるっけ。Do you remember if we could take our dogs to that restaurant over there? (Asking another)
Synonyms
Examples
トムの友達って、会ったことあったっけ?
Did you say that you had met Tom's friend?
日本の文化について発表をしたのは誰だったっけ?
Who was it that gave the talk about Japanese culture?
そんなもの家にあったっけ?
Was it that you had something like that at home?
沖縄には行ったことないんだっけ?
Did you say that you had never been to Okinawa?
明日って晴れるんだっけ?
Was it that it will be sunny tomorrow?
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Online
The casual suffix:っけ
Maggie Sensei
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Tobira
Page 358
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 132
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っけ – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (4 in total)
Fuga
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!
albcasahu
Yes, she is talking to herself. The nuance you provided makes more sense to me. Thank you so much!
Humin
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.
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