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なんだか Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N2 Freq. Frequency Top 5,000 Meanings 1
adverb
somehow ; kind of ; a little
usually written using kana alone
Expresses a vague feeling or impression that something is the case, often without a clear reason. Commonly used when the speaker has an intuitive sense about a situation.
彼かれ
の
話はなし
は
なん
だ
か
変へん
だ
と
思おも
っ
た
。
I thought his story was a little strange, somehow.
Similar words なんとなく なんとなく also means 'without a clear reason' or 'vaguely', but なんだか often carries a stronger sense of an unexplainable feeling or impression, while なんとなく can be used for actions done without much thought.
Etymology Derived from 何 (nani, 'what') + だ (da, copula) + か (ka, question particle), literally 'what is it that...'. The exact historical development into an adverb meaning 'somehow' is uncertain.