Rare Interrogatives
Aside from the basic interrogatives—誰 (who), どこ (where), 何 (what), etc.—there is an array of other interrogatives in Japanese which do not necessarily get formally introduced to learners. Not all such interrogatives are inherently obscure. Some may be literary, some may be dialectical, while others are simply omitted out of brevity. Regardless of why these interrogatives are often forgotten, this lesson will serve to shed some light on these lesser known alternatives.
なんらか
The interrogative 何らか means “some (sort of),” and it is 何か (something) combined with the plural affix ～ら to reduce the definitive quantity/quality of whatever is being referenced.
1. 背後に何らかの気配を感じてゾッとした。
A shiver ran down my spine, having sensed some sort of presence behind me.
2. 確かに何らかの可能性はあるよ。
Certainly, there are some possibilities.
何某か
The interrogative 何某か refers to a “certain sum,”
, also 何某か, means “any” or “some”. Both of these words are quantity words. So, they describe indefinite amounts. 何らか is the most common.
3. 何某かのお金
A certain sum of money
なにがし (某・何某) is a somewhat old-fashioned indefinite pronoun meaning “a certain”. It equates in meaning to the Sino-Japanese prefix 某 read as ぼう. 某‐ can be used after proper nouns, place and time words. It is very similar to ある・或る. ある can be used to refer to something when one has no certainty of the actual matter/thing. When one uses 某‐, though, one knows exactly what the subject (matter) is. You just think it is best not to say it. It also sometimes gives the impression one is hiding information, especially when you overuse it. It goes well with more stiff 書き言葉. However, there are exceptions.
| ある国 → 某国 | ある日 → 某日 | あるところ → 某所 | ある雑誌 → 某誌 |
| ある会社 → 某会社 | ある先生 → 某教師 | ある省 → 某省 | ある月 → 某月 |
| あるテレビ局 → 某テレビ局 | ある人 → 某氏 | あるタレント → 某タレント | ある高校 → 某高校 |
4. どこぞのなにがし
A certain someone from somewhere
The ら in 何ら is the same as in 彼ら. So, this is essentially the plural form of what. It is used as a more emphatic way of saying なにも. It may be used adverbially and nominally. It is not as common as なにも.
5. 何ら不安はないよ。
I have no fear.
6. 何ら疑いはない。
I have no doubt.
7. 何らの利益もないよ。
There’s no profit/benefit whatsoever.
いずれ
いずれ, an alternative to どれ, is best translated as either “either,” “both,” or “sooner or later.” These usages are distinguished easily from each other. If used as an adverb, it means, “sooner or later.” If used with a particle such as も, it’s like どれも to mean “either/both.”
8. 何れ分かるよ。
You’ll understand sooner or later!
9. いずれ改めて伺います。
I will come again in the near future.
10. いずれ劣らぬ (Set phrase)
Equally competent
Interrogative Note: Do not get the impression that these are all of the possible interrogatives in Japanese. You will discover more, though more likely rarer, interrogatives as you continue to study Japanese. The examples below are just to show you what more is out there. You don’t have to remember this stuff.
いずくんぞ
いずくんぞ, formally and formerly as いづくんぞ, means どうして. The following characters have been used to write it, but only the last is ever seen today: 悪・安・寧・焉.
11. 未だ生を知らず、焉んぞ死を知らんや。
How would you know death if you’ve yet to know life?
12. 孔子が『未だ人に事うること能わず、焉んぞ能く鬼に事えん。』と曰わく。
Confucius said, “How could you possibly serve the divine well if you can’t even serve man well?”
13. 燕雀安んぞ鴻鵠の志を知らんや。
How is that sparrows and swallows have greater will power than large birds?
14. 鶏を割くに焉んぞ牛刀を用いん。
You don’t need a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken.
15. 王候将相寧んぞ種あらんや。
Why would nobles and shogun have seeds? (Any person can achieve through effort and luck)
16. いずくんぞ知らん。(Very old-fashioned)
How would you know?
那辺・奈辺
17. こヽに於て此の問題の重大なることや、その解決の那邊にあるかを叫んで、國民の注意を喚起する先覺者の奮發努力が甚だ望ましい次第であります。
This is dependent on the much needed strenuous efforts of a pioneer who will alert the public’s attention and strongly ask what the most important thing to this problem is and where the solution is.
From 國語國字問題 by 福永恭助.
Sentence Notes:
1. 那辺 is a rare interrogative equivalent to どこ・どの辺．
2. The example was written before simplification took place. Notice how many characters look different.
如何
如何 is sometimes read as いかん. This is a contraction of いかに. Both words are equivalent in meaning to どんなに. いかん is seen in formal situations, but its usage has continued to go down. いかに is used even less, but it survives in set phrases and in common usage in things like いかにも, which is used to show agreement in the same way as 全く and なるほど.
18. 人間、いかに生くべきか。
How should man live?
19. この件は如何致しましょうか。
What should we do with this case?
Interesting Dialect Phrases
If we include dialectical interrogative phrases, the number of such phrases in Japanese goes up a lot. Some phrases are localized to very small areas, but they’re still interesting to look at. Below are phrases from 福島弁. Of these なして, also happens to be used in many other places in Japan. The rest are quite localized to the 東北 Region.
20. え、なして？
Wait, why?
21. なして泣いてるの？
Why are you crying?