Question Marker (か)
〜か
The particle か turns a statement into a yes/no question when added to the end of a sentence.
Pattern
Statement + か
Explanation
The particle か is placed at the end of a sentence to form a question. Unlike English, Japanese does not change word order to ask questions — simply add か to the end of a statement.
'これは本です' (This is a book) → 'これは本ですか' (Is this a book?). In polite speech (です/ます), か is always used. In casual speech, questions are often formed with rising intonation alone, without か.
か is also used with question words: 'なにを食べますか' (What will you eat?), 'どこに行きますか' (Where will you go?). When using question words, the answer replaces the question word in the same position.
Examples
これは本ですか。
これはほんですか。
Kore wa hon desu ka.
Is this a book?
日本語がわかりますか。
にほんごがわかりますか。
Nihongo ga wakarimasu ka.
Do you understand Japanese?
何を食べますか。
なにをたべますか。
Nani wo tabemasu ka.
What will you eat?
明日は暇ですか。
あしたはひまですか。
Ashita wa hima desu ka.
Are you free tomorrow?
Common Mistakes
Wrong
これは本ですか？
Correct
これは本ですか。
In Japanese, use a period (。) after か, not a question mark. The か itself indicates the question.
Wrong
何を食べますか何。
Correct
何を食べますか。
Place the question word in the normal position within the sentence, not at the end.
Related Grammar Points
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