確か
Meaning in Englishcertain, sure, if I remember correctly
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
確か means something is true or certain, and it also serves to hedge a statement when recalling information. It describes reliability or truthfulness in a given claim and can be used before nouns or as part of fixed phrases to express certainty or memory-based hedging.
Main meanings
- certain, sure, reliable in reference to information or facts
- adverbial form 確かに meaning certainly or indeed
- hedging use indicating memory or approximation in casual speech
- before nouns, 確かな modifies nouns to express a definite quality
How to use it
Used as a na-adjective to describe nouns (確かな情報, 確かな証拠) and as an adverb in 確かに, to affirm or concede when recalling information; suitable for both casual and formal contexts, with nuances shifting toward memory-based hedging in everyday speech
Variants and close terms
- 確かな (tashika na) — formal description of certainty
- 確かに (tashika ni) — adverb meaning certainly or indeed
- 確か (tashika) — stem used before other particles or in compounds
- 不確か (futashika) — uncertain, doubtful (antonym)
- 正確 (seikaku) — precise, accurate (related but more formal)
Composition
- 確 = certainty, truth; か = kun-reading that forms the na-adjective; together they produce 確か with the core sense of certainty
Etymology
確 denotes certainty; か is the kun-reading that forms the adjective/adverbial usage, resulting in 確か as a na-adjective and its adverbial/hedging forms
Origin
Borrowed from the Chinese character 確, introduced into Japanese through the classical writing system; appears in classical Japanese texts and has evolved into contemporary usage as both a na-adjective and adverb
Word class
na-adjective (形容動詞) and adverb form as 確かに