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

(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.

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 (14 in total)

  • nekoyama

    nekoyama

    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

    makes sense

  • sunflowii

    sunflowii

    SAMPLE SENTENCE FROM LESSON AND ITS TRANSLATION:
    " あのレストランの料理りょうりなに美味おいしくないでしょう。
    There is nothing good at that restaurant, right?"

    Why I find this confusing: なにも + 美味しくない seems to me that it’s “nothing not delicious” so anything delicious.
    I know that なにも is used with a phrase that is negative BUT なにも can be translated to both nothing and anything. So how do you know when it’s nothing and when it’s anything?

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