かな

See also: がな

Japanese

Etymology 1

Combination of か (ka, interrogative particle) +‎ な (na, mild exclamatory particle).

First attested in the late-Edo period as an apparent shift in sense from the Old Japanese and classical usage, wherein the な (na) came to express more a sense of mild doubt rather than admiration (see that section for more).

Particle

かな • (ka na) 

1. [from early 1800s] expresses a question with a feeling of worry

   彼(かれ)は怪(あや)しい人(ひと)かな。 ― Kare wa ayashii hito ka na. ― I wonder if he's a suspicious person.

   まあ、そうかな。 ― Mā, sō ka na. ― Well, maybe so.

2. expresses skepticism: really?, is it?
3. (in the form ～ないかな (...nai ka na)) expresses affirmation: I hope, I wish
4. expresses confusion

Etymology 2

Alternative spelling
哉

From Old Japanese. First attested in the early 700s.

From か (ka, particle indicating doubt or uncertainty) +‎ な (na, mild exclamatory particle).

Displaced particle かも (ka mo) around the early-Middle Japanese stage.

Particle

かな • (ka na) 

1. [from early 700s] (Classical Japanese or literary) expresses wonder or postulation on the part of the speaker

   善(よ)き哉(かな)！

   Yoki ka na!

   Wonderful!

Usage notes

Still used in contexts that deliberately evoke a classical or literary sense, such as poetry.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 哉(かな)留(ど)まり (kanadomari)
• 宜(うべ)なるかな (ubenaru kana)
• 売(う)らんかな (uran kana)
• 惜(お)しいかな (oshii kana)
• 現(げん)在(ざい)の哉(かな) (genzai no kana)
• 幸(さいわ)いなるかな (saiwai naru kana)
• 果(は)たせるかな (hataseru kana)
• 宜(むべ)なるかな (mubenaru kana)
• 已(や)んぬるかな (yannuru kana)
• 善(よ)いかな (yoi kana)

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of かな – see the following entries.

【仮名】 [noun] a category of Japanese syllabary scripts: kana [noun] a syllabogram, an individual character belonging to one of the syllabaries: kana Alternative spelling 仮字

【縢】H [noun] (historical, sewing) thread

【鉋】H [noun] (possibly dialect) a carpentry plane

(This term, かな (kana), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as かな, see Category:Japanese kanji read as かな.)

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of かな – see the following entries.

【香奈】 [proper noun] a female given name

【佳奈】 [proper noun] a female given name

【加奈】 [proper noun] a female given name

【愛あづみ】4 [proper noun] a female given name Alternative spellings 真, ああい, あゝい, あいか, あいす, あき, あこ, あみか, あおい, ありさ, あや, あゆ, ちぎり, ちか, ちかし, えりな, はあと, ひかり, いと, いとし, いつみ, いずみ, かなえ, かなさ, きずな, こころ, こゝろ, このむ, まどか, まなぶ, まなみ, めづる, めご, めぐ, めぐみ, めぐむ, めい, なる, なるこ, のぞみ, らぶ, るい, さら, さらん, つぐみ, つくみ, うい, よし, よしき, よしみ

(This term, かな (kana), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as かな, see Category:Japanese kanji read as かな.)