Meaning
Put か at the end of a polite sentence to ask the listener a question.
Formation
- Polite sentence + か: 学生ですか, 行きますか.
- A question word stays in its normal position: 駅はどこですか.
When to use it
- Yes-or-no question
- Checks whether the entire preceding statement is true.
- Information question
- Combines with だれ, 何, どこ, いつ, and other question words.
Example
駅はどこですか
Where is the station?
Important notes
- Japanese writing normally does not need a question mark after か because the particle already marks the question.
- In casual speech, rising intonation often makes a question without か.
Common mistakes
- Do not rearrange words as in an English question; add か to a complete Japanese sentence.
- Do not confuse question か with the か used to list alternatives in 〜か〜か.