かい

Japanese

Counter

かい (romaji -kai)

1. 回: occurrences
2. 回: games, rounds, innings in baseball
3. 階: floor, storey

Noun

かい (romaji kai)

1. 貝: shell
2. 階: story, floor
3. 界: world

Particle

かい (romaji kai)

1. かい: (familiar) marks a non-rhetorical question, which expects a 'yes' or a 'no' answer, a variant of question particle か (“ka”)

   元気かい？

   げんきかい？

   Genki kai?

   Are you fine?

   あの女の子に気があるのかい。

   あのおんなのこにきがあるのかい。

   Ano onna no ko ni ki ga aru no kai?

   Are you interested in that girl?

   彼はもう来たかい？

   かれはもうきたかい？

   Kare wa mō kita kai?

   Has he come yet?

   本当に出来るのかい？

   ほんとうにできるのかい？

   Hontō ni dekiru no kai?

   Can you really do it?

Usage notes

• The question marker かい (“kai”) is sometimes written as かえ (“kae”), but it's less common.

Suffix

かい (romaji -kai)

1. 会: meeting
2. 階: floor, storey
3. 界: the world of something, such as business, celebrities, or finance
4. 改: revision