なんだか

な

ん

だ

か

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 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.

なんだか

今日きょう

は

気き

分ぶん

が

いい

。

I feel kind of good today, somehow.

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.

Usage patterns

何なんだか〈形けい容よう詞し〉somehow feeling [adjective]
何なんだか眠ねむくなってきた。
I'm starting to feel sleepy for some reason.
何なんだか〈事こと〉な気きがするto have a vague feeling that [something]
何なんだか今日きょうはいいことがある気きがする。
I have a feeling something good is going to happen today.
何なんだか〈動どう詞し〉たくなるto suddenly feel like doing [verb] for no clear reason
その話はなしを聞きいて、何なんだか泣なきたくなった。
Hearing that story, I somehow felt like crying.

Expressions

何なにが何なんだかwhat's what; heads or tails
何なにが何なんだかわからないnot knowing what's what; unable to make heads or tails of something

Kanji

何what

Related words

なんとなくN3
なんとなく suggests doing or feeling something without a particular reason or much thought, while 何だか emphasizes a vague, hard-to-explain impression or feeling.
どうもN4
どうも often introduces a vague sense that something is wrong or off (and can also mean 'thanks'), whereas 何だか is neutral and simply marks an unexplainable impression.
なんかN1
なんか is a very casual spoken filler that can vaguely point to something or soften a statement, while 何だか more specifically conveys an intuitive, unexplainable feeling.

Word family

なんだかんだN2
something or other; one thing or another; this and that

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.