Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 10: 14/20

っけ

What is…again?, Was it... that... ?, Did you say...?

While Verb[る] + ん/の + だ/だった + っけ should be used, younger generation of Japanese simply uses Verb[る] + っけ

Structure

Verb［た］+ っけ
Verb［る］+ ん(1)だ + っけ
［い］Adjective［た］+ っけ
［な］Adjective + だった(2) + っけ
Noun + だった(2) + っけ

(1) の
(2) だ

Details

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About っけ

け is a sentence ending particle in Japanese that is used to convey when the speaker is trying to either remember, or confirm information that they have forgotten. In this way, it is very similar to the 'again' in 'what is (A) again?'
け may only be used after the past form of the auxiliary verbs だ or た. This means that け (should) only be seen as だっけ or たっけ.
  • 今日(きょう)の朝(あさ)は朝(あさ)ご飯(はん)を食(た)べたっけ。
    Did I eat breakfast this morning?
  • あれ、テイラーの車(くるま)って青(あお)かったっけ。
    Um, Taylor, was your car blue, again?
  • 土曜日(どようび)って暇(ひま)だっけ。
    Was I free on Saturday, again?
  • あの人(ひと)誰(だれ)だっけ。やばい、思(おも)い出(だ)せない。
    Who was that again? Shoot, I can't remember.
It is also common to see のだ and んだ utilized to make verb tenses a possibility.
  • クミコって納豆(なっとう)食(た)べれるんだっけ。
    Kumiko, were you able to eat natto again?
  • レポートの修正(しゅうせい)は君(きみ)がやってるんだっけ。
    You are the one editing the paper, right?
Caution
Despite the grammar rules related to っけ, the younger generation quite often uses it without the addition of んだ (especially with verbs).
  • トムって日本語(にほんご)話(はな)せるっけ。
    Tom, were you able to speak Japanese again?
  • この道(みち)って通(とお)れるっけ。
    Were we able to take this road again?
While it is important to understand that this is still っけ, it is not a grammatically correct form that may be used in writing (or formal speaking).
Fun Fact
け will sound equally natural when asking a rhetorical question to yourself, or when directly asking another person about something that you have forgotten.
  • あれ、カギ掛(か)けたっけ。
    Umm, did I lock the door? (Asking oneself)
  • あそこのレストランって犬(いぬ)を連(つ)れていけるっけ。
    Do you remember if we could take our dogs to that restaurant over there? (Asking another)

Examples

  • トムの友達(ともだち)って、会(あ)ったことあったっけ？

    Did you say that you had met Tom's friend?

  • 日本(にほん)の文化(ぶんか)について発表(はっぴょう)をしたのは誰(だれ)だったっけ？

    Who was it that gave the talk about Japanese culture?

  • そんなもの家(いえ)にあったっけ？

    Was it that you had something like that at home?

  • 沖縄(おきなわ)には行(い)ったことないんだっけ？

    Did you say that you had never been to Okinawa?

  • 明日(あした)って晴(は)れるんだっけ？

    Was it that it will be sunny tomorrow?

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っけ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    I am not sure if this is a speech bubble, but it seems like the person saying this in their head and trying to remember if they went to 初詣 with 竜一. This sentence sort of has the nuance of, ‘I went to hatsumoude with Ryuichi last year…right?’

    If you check out the fun fact section of this grammar point it says, 'け will sound equally natural when asking a rhetorical question to yourself, or when directly asking another person about something that you have forgotten. '.

    Hope that answers your question!

  • albcasahu

    albcasahu

    Yes, she is talking to herself. The nuance you provided makes more sense to me. Thank you so much!

  • Humin

    Humin

    A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar (ADAJG) notes that っけ is also used for nostalgic recollection. The Maggie Sensei link briefly mentions this as well. I think that usage would fit better in this scenario.

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