Structure
Question Word + か + わかる(1)
(1) 覚える、決める、知っている and so on
Details
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Standard
About Question-phrase + か
Often, the adverbial particle か is used in the middle of a sentence, in the same way that it is as a sentence ending particle. The main differences are as follows:
Adverbial Particle: 副助詞 - Highlights uncertain things '不確かであること'. This is the same か as in どこか 'somewhere'.
Sentence Ending Particle: 終助詞 - Highlights doubts and questions '疑問や質問'. This is a direct question.
In the case of the adverbial particle か and 'uncertain things', this will almost always be followed by a word that is seeking information about the uncertain thing.
As can be seen in these examples, sometimes the adverbial particle will appear by itself, and sometimes it will appear together with the sentence ending particle in the same sentence. However, due to the 'uncertainty' being displayed by the adverbial particle, the question marker at the end of the sentence is not required.
Caution
This か should not be preceded by だ (or です), this is why words like どこか and 誰か are not どこだか and 誰だか.
Synonyms
Examples
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僕がどこにいるかわかる?
Do you know where I am?
(question within a larger sentence)
いつ美術館に行くか決めましたか?
Have you decided when you are going to the art museum?
(question within a larger sentence)
彼の好みの味が何かわかる?
Do you know what kind of flavor(s) he likes?
(question within a larger sentence)
彼が誰のことを好きかわかりません。
I do not know who he likes.
(question within a larger sentence)
何を消したか知っている?
Do you know what was erased?
(question within a larger sentence)
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Additional Examples
J-nihongo
Embedded Questions
Tae Kim
'Buried Questions'
Cure Dolly [video]
Offline
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 192
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 98
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 36
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Question-phrase + か – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (7 in total)
Pushindawood
@DonChanHype Thank you for your comment! I have added かどうか and some other grammar points to the related section. I have also included the Tae Kim link that you provided in the Readings section. Cheers!
DonChanHype
Thanks as always!
WireMouse
It might be helpful to include sentences that use the nominalization のか as well, since I’ve been getting confused when seeing that out in the wild. For example, this WaniKani sentence: 「字がきたなすぎて、薬方に何が書いてあるのかさっぱり分かりません。」
In this grammar point, か comes right after the verb, with no nominalizer, but のか can happen as well, right?
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