question marker (sentence-end); or (between nouns); whether (embedded question)
Form: sentence + か (turns it into a question); noun + か + noun (or); embedded clause + か (どうか) + main verb (whether).
Meaning: wraps a statement into a question, offers a choice between alternatives, or marks the end of an embedded question inside a larger sentence.
Key uses:
- Direct question: 元気ですか are you well?. In polite speech, か is standard. In casual speech, intonation alone works and か is often dropped — 元気？
- "Or" between two alternatives: お茶かコーヒー tea or coffee. Unlike English or, this chains only two or three specific alternatives — for a longer, fuzzier list, use とか or restructure.
- Embedded question ("whether"): 来るかどうか知らない (I) don't know whether (he) is coming. The かどうか chunk marks the end of the embedded question; you can drop どうか in casual speech.
Casual masculine: 行くか？ shall we go? — plain-form verb + か is direct and slightly rough. 行こうか (volitional + か) is softer.
vs. とか: とか lists things as loose examples — コーヒーとかお茶とか coffee, tea, that kind of thing. か alone is a hard choice between named alternatives.
Furigana is above every kanji; the pattern is already filled in.
あなたは学生です＿＿。
Are you a student?
コーヒー＿＿お茶、どちらがいいですか。
Coffee or tea — which would you like?
明日雨が降る＿＿どうか分かりません。
I don't know whether it'll rain tomorrow.