Sentence endings: ね, よ, かな and the rest
寒いね, 寒いよ and 寒いなあ all say it is cold. The ending says what you are doing: asking the other person to agree, telling them something new, or thinking aloud. ね and よ are the two to start with. Most of the others depend on who you are talking to. A few are heard mostly from men, women or older people.
| What you are doing | With friends | In polite speech |
|---|---|---|
| Asking them to agree or confirm | ね | ですね, ますね |
| Telling them something new | よ | ですよ, ますよ |
| Giving your view, and checking theirs | よね | ですよね, ますよね |
| Saying a feeling aloud | な | Still な |
| Asking a question | No ending: the voice rises | ですか, ますか |
| Asking about something you have noticed | の？ | んですか |
| Explaining | んだ | んです |
| Wondering aloud, or asking softly | かな | でしょうか |
| Trying to recall | っけ | でしたっけ, ましたっけ |
| Expecting a yes | でしょ？ | でしょう？ To someone above you, ですよね |
| Pointing out what you want them to see | じゃない, じゃん | じゃないですか |
ね, よ and よね: what the other person already knows
The curry at this restaurant is spicy, isn't it?
You are both eating it.
The curry at this restaurant is spicy, so be aware.
They haven't tried it. You are telling them.
The curry at this restaurant is spicy, right?
You have both eaten here before. You are checking that they think so too.
よ makes you the one who knows, which is helpful in a friendly voice. Said sharply, or about something they know perfectly well, it pushes back.
It's already eight.
On a request, よ presses, where ね is gentle.
Hey, wait a minute!
They aren't waiting, or you don't like what they just said.
Where ね and よ go wrong
ね doesn't belong on your own news: the other person wasn't there for it.
You saw a film yesterday, didn't you?
Something they know: their film, or one you saw together.
When they can see or feel the same thing, よ has nothing to tell them.
Sounds odd: 暑いですよ。
It's hot, I tell you.
Odd as a reply to 今日は暑いですね: it tells them what they have just told you. The reply is そうですね.
なあ: a feeling said to yourself
Full pageなあN5
なあ says a feeling out loud, mostly to yourself, so it follows the plain form even in a polite conversation. It is often shortened to な.
It's quiet today, isn't it?
Turned to the person beside you. You want them to agree.
か, の？ and んだ: asking, and explaining
With friends a question usually drops its か, and the voice rises instead.
Sounds odd: もう
Have you had lunch yet?
Blunt. Mostly men say it, older more than younger, to family or juniors.
Right, time to go home.
Said to yourself, with a falling voice: a decision, not a question.
の？ asks about something you have seen or just heard, and んだ gives the explanation.
The light is on—are you still awake?
Yeah, I have a test tomorrow.
An explanation can end in の too: softer than んだ, and heard more from women and from adults talking to children.
かな and っけ: wondering, and trying to remember
かな is "I wonder": a question you ask yourself out loud. っけ is for something you once knew, or were told, and can't call to mind.
I wonder if it will rain tomorrow.
Wondering. Nobody knows yet.
Was it supposed to rain tomorrow?
Recalling. You saw the forecast and can't remember what it said.
Said to someone who can answer or decide, かな is a soft question.
Would it be all right if I sat here?
Polite: to a stranger, or to someone above you.
でしょう？ and じゃない: expecting a yes, and pointing something out
Full pageでしょう・
With a rising voice, でしょう is "right?", and it expects a yes. With a falling voice it is a guess: "probably".
じゃない on the end of a sentence is often not the negative: you think something is so, and want the other person to see it. Straight after a verb or an い-adjective it is never the negative.
See? You did it all by yourself!
See, I told you.
Among friends, often じゃん, which is never the negative.
This place is famous, isn't it?
After a noun or a な-adjective it can be the negative, and the voice decides: rising, it asks them to agree.
You know the new bakery by the station? It's good.
The polite form. Here it brings up something they know: "you know…?"
でしたっけ, ですよね or でしょう？
All three check a fact. They differ in how sure you are.
Was the test next week? I can't remember.
You were told, and have forgotten.
The test is next week, isn't it?
You think so, and are checking.
The test is next week, right?
You expect a yes. To a teacher it can sound pushy.
Short answers: そうですね, そうですか, いいですよ
そうですねyes, it is
It is. It really is hot.
Drawn out, そうですねえ, it is "let me see".
そうですかI see
I see. Then I'll go by bus.
Said with a falling voice.
そうなんですかoh, really?
Oh, is that so? I didn't know.
A reply to news. With friends: そうなんだ.
そうかなI'm not so sure
You think so? I like it.
A soft way to disagree.
いいですねthat sounds good
That sounds good.
To a suggestion.
いいなあlucky you
Lucky you. I wish I could go too.
When someone has what you would like.
もん and ってば: defending yourself, and saying it again
もん ends a sentence that gives your reason, as a defense: "…so don't blame me". Children say it all the time, and adults mostly when sulking or playing at it. ってば insists: it says something again to someone who isn't listening or doesn't believe you. Both are for people you are close to.
I couldn't help it. The train had stopped running.
Are you still angry?
I'm not angry, I told you. I've let it go.
だろ, じゃないか, ぞ, ぜ: heard mostly from men
Full pageでしょう・
Mostly men say these, each in place of an everyday ending. ぞ and ぜ are commoner in anime than in real life, and manga and dramas are full of じゃないか.
| Ending | What it is |
|---|---|
| だろ？, だろう？ | A rough でしょ？ |
| じゃないか | A firmer じゃない |
| A short な said to someone: そうだな | A blunter ね |
| ぞ, ぜ | よ, said more roughly |
It's quiet here, right?
Here we go.
Right, I'm going to give it my best.
Said to yourself. Anyone says this ぞ.
かい, かしら and a soft わ: more in stories than in real life
かい asks a yes-or-no question in a kindly voice. Mostly older people say it, men more than women.
Did you have fun at school today?
かしら means what かな means, and is heard mostly from women, older more than younger.
I wonder if that shop is open today.
In a soft, rising voice, わ is women's speech: today mostly older women, and women in fiction. Low and falling, it is casual, and anyone says it.
Other endings you will hear
なN5Spoken, rough
After a dictionary form, a short, sharp な is an order: "don't".
Danger! Don't go onto the tracks!
さN4Spoken, casual
さ makes a finished sentence sound obvious: mostly men's speech, and more in stories than in life.
Don't worry, it'll work out.
Pages in this comparison
- ねisn't it?; right?; okay? · N5
- よyou know; I'm telling you · N5
- よね…, right?; I know, right? · N5
- なあhow …; I wish … · N5
- かmakes a question; or · N5
- んですthe thing is…; how come…? · N5
- かな・
かしらI wonder · N4 - っけwhat was it again? · N3
- でしょうかa softer, more careful question · N4
- でしょう・
だろうprobably; …, right? · N5 - じゃない・
じゃないか・ ではないかisn't it?; I told you; oh, it is! · N4 - もの・
もんbecause (defending yourself) · N3 - ってばI said …!; honestly, … · N1
- かいan older person's gentle question · N4
- わa sentence ending: casual, or feminine · N4