Sentence Ending Particles in Japanese

In Japanese, there are many particles that are added to the end of a sentence. They express the speaker's emotions, doubt, emphasis, caution, hesitation, wonder, admiration, and so on. Some sentence ending particles distinguish male or female speech. Many of them don't translate easily.

Ka

Makes a sentence into a question. When forming a question, the word order of a sentence does not change in Japanese.

• Nihon-jin desu ka.
  日本人ですか。
  Are you Japanese?
• Supeingo o hanashimasu ka.
  スペイン語を話しますか｡
  Do you speak Spanish?

Kana/Kashira

Indicates that you are not sure about something. It can be translated as "I wonder ~". "Kashira（かしら）" is used only by women.

• Tanaka-san wa ashita kuru kana.
  田中さんは明日来るかな｡
  I wonder if Mr. Tanaka will come tomorrow.
• Ano hito wa dare kashira.
  あの人は誰かしら｡
  I wonder who that person is.

Na

(1) Prohibition. A negative imperative marker used only by men in very informal speech.

• Sonna koto o suru na!
  そんなことをするな！
  Don't do such a thing!

(2) Casual emphasis on a decision, suggestion or opinion.

• Kyou wa shigoto ni ikitakunai na.
  今日は仕事に行きたくないな｡
  I don't want to go to work today.
• Sore wa machigatteiru to omou na.
  それは間違っていると思うな｡
  I think that is wrong.

Naa

Expresses emotion, or a casual remark of wishful thinking.

• Sugoi naa.
  すごいなあ｡
  How great it is!
• Mou sukoshi nete itai naa.
  もう少し寝ていたいなあ｡
  I wish I could sleep in a little more.

Ne/Nee

Confirmation. Indicates that the speaker wants the listener to agree or confirm. It is similar to English expressions "don't you think so", "isn't it?" or "right?".

• Ii tenki desu ne.
  いい天気ですね｡
  It's a beautiful day, isn't it?
• Mou nakanaide ne.
  もう泣かないでね｡
  Please don't cry anymore, okay?