か何（なに）か (ka nani ka)
～か何か — ～ or something
Pattern
-
N／V普通形＋か何かNoun / plain form + か何か
Meaning
'A か何か' means A or something like it. It is used when the exact thing is undecided, or to be polite and vague. A longer description may follow, as in ペンか何か、書く物.
Related forms
Close to とか, など, and でも. お茶でも飲みませんか is an invitation; お茶か何か飲みますか offers tea as an example of a drink. Plain 何か is general, while Aか何か gives A as an example.
Examples
-
お茶（ちゃ）か何（なに）か飲（の）みますか。
Ocha ka nani ka nomimasu ka.
Will you drink tea or something?
-
のどが渇（かわ）いたから、ジュースか何（なに）か買（か）ってこよう。
Nodo ga kawaita kara, jūsu ka nani ka katte koyō.
I'm thirsty, so let me go buy some juice or something.
-
ペンか何（なに）か、書（か）く物（もの）を貸（か）してください。
Pen ka nani ka, kaku mono o kashite kudasai.
Please lend me a pen or something to write with.
Common mistakes
- Do not drop か: 'お茶何か' is wrong.
- You do not need to list several choices; one example is enough.
More grammar points
- ばよかった ～ばよかった — I should have ～, if only I had ～
- ばかりで ～ばかりで — only ～ (and nothing else, with a negative feeling)
- ばかりでなく ～ばかりでなく — not only ～ but also ～
- だけでなく ～だけでなく — not only ～ but also ～
- だけど だけど — but, however (casual)
- ふりをする ～ふりをする — pretending to ～
- 一方（いっぽう）だ ～一方だ — keeps ～ing in one direction
- 一体（いったい） 一体 — what on earth ～ (emphasizing a question)
- じゃない ～じゃない — isn't it ～! (surprise or confirmation)
- 代（か）わりに ～代わりに — instead of ～, in return for ～
- 結局（けっきょく） 結局 — in the end, after all
- きり ～きり — only ～; ever since ～
- っけ ～っけ — was it ～? (recalling)
- ことになっている ～ことになっている — it is the rule or plan that ～
- ことは～が ～ことは～が — it is true that ～, but ～
- くせに ～くせに — even though ～ (with reproach)
- も～ば～も A も ～ば B も ～ — both A and B
- むしろ むしろ — rather, if anything
Practice this in the app
Mainichi JLPT turns these grammar points into daily quizzes and a readiness gauge — 100% free, no sign-up.