かな

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See also: がな

Japanese

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Etymology 1

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Combination of (ka, interrogative particle) +‎ (na, mild exclamatory particle).[1]

First attested in the late-Edo period as an apparent shift in sense from the Old Japanese and classical usage, wherein the (na) came to express more a sense of mild doubt rather than admiration[1] (see that section for more).

Particle

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かな (ka na

  1. [from early 1800s] expresses a question with a feeling of worry
    (かれ)(あや)しい(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

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Alternative spelling

From Old Japanese. First attested in the early 700s.[1]

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

Displaced particle かも (ka mo) around the early-Middle Japanese stage.[1][2]

Particle

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かな (ka na

  1. [from early 700s] (Classical Japanese or literary) expresses wonder or postulation on the part of the speaker
    ()(かな)
    Yoki ka na!
    Wonderful!
Usage notes
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Still used in contexts that deliberately evoke a classical or literary sense, such as poetry.[2]

Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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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
H
[noun] (historical, sewing) thread
H
[noun] (woodworking tools, possibly dialect) a 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

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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
(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.)

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 かな”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. 2.0 2.1 ”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months