Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 10: 2/18

かしらI wonder

Structure

Phrase + かしら

Details

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About かしら

Originally, かしら was an abbreviation of か()らぬ, or かしらん, which are both ways of expressing 'whether it's (A), I don't know'. These days, かしら is a standalone sentence ending particle that works in a similar way to かも, by expressing the speaker's uncertainty about the previous statement.

かしら may be attached to the end of almost any phrase that the speaker wants to express doubt about.

Caution

Although the original forms of か()らぬ, or かしらん were useable by anybody, かしら is thought to be very feminine in modern Japanese, and therefore is not often used by men.

Examples

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    今日(きょう)(あめ)()かしら

    I wonder if it will rain today.

    すぐ冷房(れいぼう)つけてくれないかしら

    I wonder if they won't turn on the air conditioning for us soon.

    ここ()てもいいかしら

    I wonder if it is ok to eat here.

    納豆(なっとう)(へん)(にお)がするから()れるかしら

    Since natto has a strange smell, I wonder if I will be able to eat it.

    あまり理解(りかい)出来(でき)ていないみたい()けるかしら

    It appears that they don't really understand. I wonder if it will go well.

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        • [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

          Page 48 & 181

        • Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide

          Page 206

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      かしら – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (3 in total)

      • Brand_S

        Brand_S

        Quick question: how does かしら work with -ます form, if it’s compatible? I didn’t see any example sentences showing that?

      • nekoyama

        nekoyama

        In theory, it can be used with -ます or です in the same way as かな, just put it at the end. But both かしら and かな aren’t really used with people one needs to be polite with. In polite speech, it would be でしょうか instead.

        In the forum post there’s still a “casual feminine speech” tag, somehow the “casual” part was lost when the grammar point got its new explanation.

      • Brand_S

        Brand_S

        Thanks! I didn’t see the word “casual” in the OP either; my bad!

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