particle N4 common casual

〜かな — sentence-final 'I wonder / I hope ~'

〜かな・かな

Meaning

I wonder ~ / ~, I guess? — a casual question turned inward at oneself rather than asked of the listener

かな (か + ね) is musing out loud: you pose a question but don't really expect the other person to answer it. With a negative it tips into hoping — 来こないかな is less 'I wonder if it won't come' and more 'I kind of hope it comes'.

Key sentence

明日あしたは晴はれるかな。

I wonder if it'll be sunny tomorrow.

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
Plain form / noun / na-adjective (no だ on noun・na-adj)	… plain + かな	行いくかな / 元気げんきかな / 学生がくせいかな

Examples

この服ふく、ちょっと派手はでかな。

This outfit's a little flashy, maybe.

彼かれ、もう帰かえったかな。

I wonder if he's already gone home.

早はやくバス来こないかな。

I wish the bus would hurry up and come.

Easily confused with

かしら Same 'I wonder', different speaker: かな is gender-neutral and the everyday default; かしら is markedly feminine/old-fashioned. 〜のだろうか Both wonder, but のだろうか is heavier and more written/introspective ('I wonder whether…'); かな is light, spoken musing.

Notes

〜かな with a negative verb is the standard way to voice a wish: 上手うまくいかないかな ('I hope it goes well'). Said softly, often half to yourself.

See 〜かな in real sentences

Jengo shows 〜かな the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

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