なんか

Japanese

Particle

なんか (rōmaji nanka)

1. 何か: (adverbial particle, dismissive, pejorative) emphasizes disgust, contempt, or otherwise negative feelings of the speaker: whatever

Usage notes

• なんか (nanka) is usually followed by a verb which conveys some kind of undervalue, lacking, or dislike, often in the negative.
• なんか (nanka) can immediately follow i-adjectives, using the adjective's ku form if followed by the negative, or if the adjective is followed by no. Na-adjectives require the copula da or no before nanka.
• It can follow
  • nouns:
    • 助言 (じょげん)なんか要 (い)らない。

      Jogen nanka iranai.

      I don't need any of your (damn) advice.

  • verbs:
    • 泳 (およ)ぐなんかできない。

      Oyogu nanka dekinai.

      I can't swim.

  • adjectives:
    • 大 (おお)きくなんかないけど、きれいだ。

      Ōkiku nanka nai kedo, kirei da.

      It's not big [or anything], but it's clean.

Synonyms

• (slightly more formal) なんて (nante)
• (more formal) など (nado)

Noun

なんか (rōmaji nanka)

1. 軟化: softening, mollification
2. 南下: going south

Verb

なんかする (rōmaji nanka)

1. 軟化: to soften, to weaken
2. 南下: to go south