なんか

Japanese

Etymology 1

Sound shift from 何(なに)か (nanika), whereby /ni/ is simplified to /ɴ/.

Particle

なんか • (nanka) 

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

   なんか変(へん)な感(かん)じがする。

   Nanka hen na kanji ga suru.

   Something feels off (and I can't explain it).

Usage notes

• なんか (nanka) Usually followed by a verb which conveys some kind of undervalue, lacking, or dislike, often in the negative.
• なんか (nanka) Can be used immediately following い-adjectives followed by の or in the ~く form, as long as the following clause is negative. For な-adjectives, だ or の is put before なんか.

• Below are examples of なんか following:
  • Nouns:
    • 助(じょ)言(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 or anything.

  • 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)

Interjection

なんか • (nanka) 

1. (used as filler during conversation) uh, er, like

   Synonyms: その, あの, こう

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of なんか – see the following entries.

【軟化】 [noun] softening [noun] weakening [verb] soften [verb] weaken

【南下】 [noun] going south [verb] to go south

(This term, なんか (nanka), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)