Sentence final particles “ka” “ne” “yo”
They come at the end of sentences.
か (rising intonation) at the end of sentence is a question maker.
E.g. たなかさんですか? Are you Tanaka-san?
The question marks are not used in regular Japanese writings. They are
used in casual notes to friends and families . I sometimes use it
in the sentences in the textbook to show that it is a question to show the
rising intonation.
ね (rising intonation) at the end of sentence is a confirmation
seeker
E.g. たなかさんですね? You are Tanaka-san, right?
よ at the end of sentence is a assertion to
emphasis the statement. (Be careful. This can be offensive in some cases
such as correcting other's mistakes. The sentence particle よ can
be used to hint the offensiveness of other's comment or question. Tone of
voice indicates how badly the person was offended. For example:
E.g. A: たなかさんですか?Are
you Mr. Tanaka? B: いいえ、ちがいますよ。(normal
tone of voice) It can simply mean, "No, you are mistaken." or (strong tone
of voice) No, it is wrong (Do I look like Mr. Tanaka?).
E.g. A: これ、いいですか? Is this correct? B: いいえ、ちがいますよ。(normal tone of voice) It can simply mean, "No, you are mistaken." or (strong tone of voice) No, it is wrong! (You are not that smart, aren't you?).
か (falling
intonation) at the end of sentence is used to indicate that a listener
got a new information.
E.g. A: たなかさんです。It (s/he) is
Tanaka-san. B: (あ、)そうですか。
(falling intonation) (Oh) I see. I got it.
ね (falling intonation) at the end of sentence is used for empathy
to synchronize the feeling (empathy). Female speakers often extend the
last vowel while many male speakers make it short.
E.g. A:いいおてんきですね。 B:そうですね。 A:I
(はい,) そうです。
(It is) correct (agreement to a yes/no question).
そうですか?(rising
intonation) (Is
it) correct? (Questioning, doubting, not quite agreeing)
そうですね?(rising
intonation)
(It is) correct, right?
(Confirming)
そうですね。(falling
intonation) (It is) correct. (Agreement
to a statement)
そうですよ。(falling
intonation)
(It is) correct, I assure
you, for sure, certainly.
Examples:
You and your friend are visiting a beach town for vacation, and you think it is
a pretty place. You are telling your friend:
You: きれいですね。 Friend:そうですね。 You: It is pretty. Friend: Indeed.
You and your friend are visiting a beach town for vacation, and you think it is a pretty place b