Particles か＋よ together mean...?

okaeri_man · 12 Oct 2004

well i know what ka means, and i know what yo means, but together i'm not too clear on the meaning. it comes up in manga a lot, for example from a one piece manga i own:

図星じゃねエかよ

which i'm guessing means "did i not guess right?" but if that's the translation, then the yo isn't really necessary, no? i dunno. or is it more like:

図星じゃねエか = did i not guess right?
図星じゃねエかよ = did i not guess right?!?

can anyone explain?

PaulTB · 12 Oct 2004

okaeri_man said:
or is it more like:

図星じゃねエか = did i not guess right?
図星じゃねエかよ = did i not guess right?!?

I think so.

Scrivener · 13 Oct 2004

okaeri_man said:
図星じゃねエか = did i not guess right?
図星じゃねエかよ = did i not guess right?!?

Even though it's obviously a rhetorical question in the English, using that rhetorical question form weakens it a little. Japanese use the so-called "rhetorical" question form a lot more than we do in English so it's probably more natural to translate it without a question form. It's more of an emphasizer.

To me the first one sounds like "wow, [he] hit the nail on the head!". The second one is like " hit the nail on the head! What do you have to say about that, huh?" or "[he] hit the nail on the head! Why didn't you tell us you were so smart!"

The "yo" here is a kind of confrontational emphasizer, like someone was disagreeing with you, or there was something they didn't tell you which you now realize.

TZed9 · 26 Oct 2004

Scrivener said:
Even though it's obviously a rhetorical question in the English, using that rhetorical question form weakens it a little. Japanese use the so-called "rhetorical" question form a lot more than we do in English so it's probably more natural to translate it without a question form. It's more of an emphasizer.

To me the first one sounds like "wow, [he] hit the nail on the head!". The second one is like " hit the nail on the head! What do you have to say about that, huh?" or "[he] hit the nail on the head! Why didn't you tell us you were so smart!"

The "yo" here is a kind of confrontational emphasizer, like someone was disagreeing with you, or there was something they didn't tell you which you now realize.

Poetry, I would relate by adding:

'isn't it?!' or simply 'uh' or 'init' to the of a statement in everyday English is similar.

尾根芸します :sorry: :sorry: :sorry:

Particles か＋よ together mean...?

okaeri_man

Tadaima!

PaulTB

Manga Psychic

Scrivener

先輩

TZed9

Fence walker

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