Grammar Info

N5 Lesson 8: 12/13

(なに) + か

Something, Nothing, Anything, Not anything, Some kind of, Not any kind of

The meaning of these words will change, based on whether the sentence is positive, or negative

Structure Legend

Structure

(なに) + Phrase
(なに) + Phrase[ない]

Details

  • Part of Speech

    Noun

  • Word Type

    Adverbial Particle

  • Register

    Standard

  • 品詞

    名詞

  • 単語の種類

    副助詞

  • 使用域

    一般

About なにか・なにも

(なに) and (なに) are constructions that are used in Japanese for expressing 'something', 'anything', or 'nothing'. The main difference between the two being that (なに) is used with negative phrases (phrases that use ない or ありません), while (なに) is used in other cases.
To use this expression, we simply need to put (なに) or (なに) before the desired phrase.
  • (なに)()ます
    Do you want to eat something?
  • 冷蔵庫(れいぞうこ)(なか)(なに)ないです
    There is nothing inside the refrigerator.
Caution
There are several casual forms of these expressions that are used in speech, or in certain dialects. These forms are なんにか, なんか, or なんにも, なんも.

Examples

  • (わたし)(なに)(いや) ことしました

    Did I do something you didn't like?

  • いいえ(なに)ていません

    No, I didn't do anything (wrong).

  • 日本(にほん)()って(なに)()べたいものがあります

    When you go to Japan, is there something that you want to eat?

  • 頑張(がんば)勉強(べんきょう)したけど(なに)わからない

    I studied diligently, but I don't understand anything.

  • (かれ)(なに)(こた)(さが)している

    He is searching for some kind of answer.

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なにか・なにも – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

  • znic1998

    znic1998

    About 3 years ago

    Howdy fellas! I’m a little confused, in the example sentence

    日本にほんに行いって、なにか 食たべたいものがありますか

    What does the ものが indicate? I’m assuming the の is present to nominalise the “the something you want to eat” and the が is the subject marker for said phrase, but what does the も represent? Based on my very limited knowledge も is used for either phrases like “also” or “too” when marking the subject or to emphasize a certain number amount, but I can for the life of me find out what this も does. It might be covered in a grammar point I haven’t made it to yet, but i searched for some stuff and didn’t find anything. Any help would be appreciated, Thanks in advanced!

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    About 3 years ago

    もの is the word もの meaning “thing”. It’s modified by 食べたい and becomes a thing one wants to eat. が marks it as a subject.

  • znic1998

    znic1998

    About 3 years ago

    makes sense

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