N4 · Particles
Wondering aloud: かな and かしら
the sentence endings かな and かしら
かな turns a statement into a question asked half to yourself: "I wonder…". かしら is an older, softer variant.
At a glance
- Remember
- かな wonders to yourself in plain speech; でしょうか wonders politely.
- Form
- 雨が降るかな。I wonder if it will rain.
- Signal words
- 〜かな
- 〜ないかな
- 〜てくれないかな
- 〜かしら
- 〜でしょうか
- Trap
- Wrong:先生、明日は休みですかな。Right:先生、明日は休みでしょうか。
Your turn
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The form
| I wonder if it will rain. | 雨が降るかな。 |
| I wonder who that is. | あれは誰かな。 |
| I wonder if it is all right. | 大丈夫かな。 |
| I wish he would come. | 早く来ないかな。 |
| Could you help me? | 手伝ってくれないかな。 |
| I wonder if we will make it. | 間に合うかしら。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
かな after the plain form wonders aloud.
明日は晴れるかな。I wonder if it will be fine tomorrow.
After a noun or a na-adjective, かな follows directly, without だ.
この答えで大丈夫かな。I wonder if this answer is all right.
ないかな after a verb is a wish.
早く週末にならないかな。I wish it were the weekend already.
In polite speech, use でしょうか instead.
会議は何時に終わるでしょうか。I wonder what time the meeting will finish.
かしら means the same and sounds softer, often feminine.
誰が来るのかしら。I wonder who is coming.
Example sentences
彼はもう家に着いたかな。I wonder if he has got home yet.
どれにしようかな。Which one shall I have, I wonder?
このかばん、高いかな。I wonder if this bag is expensive.
早くバスが来ないかな。I wish the bus would hurry up and come.
ちょっとペンを貸してくれないかな。Could you lend me a pen for a moment?
今日は雨が降るかしら。I wonder whether it will rain today.
7 more example sentences
財布、どこに置いたかな。Now where did I put my wallet?
明日のパーティー、何を着ていこうかな。What shall I wear to the party tomorrow?
田中さん、元気かな。I wonder how Mr Tanaka is.
宝くじ、当たらないかな。If only I could win the lottery.
この窓、開けてもいいかな。Is it all right if I open this window?
電車、間に合うかな。I wonder if we will catch the train.
あら、どなたかしら。Oh — who could that be?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "I wonder" fits any register, and learners attach かな to a polite sentence. But かな is talk to oneself in plain speech, and after です or ます it sounds odd. A polite "I wonder" is でしょうか.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
か asks a question. かな asks one without demanding an answer: the speaker wonders aloud, and the listener may join in or not. 明日は晴れるかな, "I wonder if it will be fine tomorrow". It goes after the plain form, and after a noun or a na-adjective directly, without だ: あの人、先生かな.
Because it is talk to oneself, かな belongs to casual speech. With a polite ending the usual form is でしょうか: 明日は晴れるでしょうか. A polite sentence with かな on the end — 行きますかな — does not exist in ordinary speech.
Two common uses go beyond wondering. After a negative, ないかな is a wish: 早く夏休みにならないかな, "I wish the summer holidays would come". And てもいいかな or てくれないかな is a soft request between friends: ちょっと手伝ってくれないかな, "could you give me a hand?".
かしら means the same as かな and is heard above all from women, especially older women, and in books and films. It can follow a polite form — 間に合うかしら, どなたかしら — and sounds gentle rather than casual. Most learners only need to recognise it.
A closer look
A question that does not insist
か on its own asks for an answer, and in plain speech it can even sound blunt. な after it turns the question inwards, so that 行くかな is closer to "I wonder whether I should go" than to "will you go?". The listener is free to answer, and often does, but is not being asked.
That freedom is why かな is so useful for softening. これでいいかな asks for approval without demanding it, and 手伝ってくれないかな asks for help in a way that is easy to decline. Between friends it is one of the gentlest request forms there is.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the speaker is deciding something for themselves
the volitional form comes before かな: 帰ろうかな, "maybe I'll go home".
疲れたから、もう寝ようかな。I'm tired — maybe I'll go to bed.
The question is about the speaker's own intention, and the volitional is the form that carries an intention.
Worth knowing (1)
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かな as a quiet answer
Asked a question, a speaker may answer with かな to sound less certain: 三時ごろかな, "around three, I think". It turns a fact into a guess and leaves room for being wrong.
「何人来る？」「十人ぐらいかな。」"How many are coming?" "About ten, I think."
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