I wonder: 〜かな・〜かしら

〜かな is for asking yourself a question out loud: “I wonder if…”. かしら means the same, with a feminine and slightly old-fashioned nuance. With a negative verb, 〜ないかな becomes a wish: “I can't wait for…”.

• あしたは 雨かな。あしたは あめかな。I wonder if it'll rain tomorrow.
• 田中さん、来るかな。たなかさん、くるかな。I wonder if Mr Tanaka will come.
• 早く 夏休みに ならないかな。はやく なつやすみに ならないかな。I can't wait for the summer holidays!
• この 服、わたしに 似合うかしら。この ふく、わたしに にあうかしら。I wonder if this outfit suits me.

か asks a question, な adds inner reflection. Together, かな is a question you ask yourself: you're not really asking for an answer, you're thinking out loud.

If someone hears and answers, all the better: かな is also a gentle way of floating a question without putting the other person on the spot.

• これで いいかな。これで いいかな。I wonder if this will do.
• 今 何時かな。いま なんじかな。I wonder what time it is.

Plain form + かな. As with だろう, nouns and な-adjectives lose their だ: 雨かな, 静かかな. The polite version, for asking the same question to someone else, is 〜でしょうか.

• あの 店、まだ 開いてるかな。あの みせ、まだ あいてるかな。I wonder if that shop is still open.
• すみません、この 電車は うめだに 止まるでしょうか。すみません、この でんしゃは うめだに とまるでしょうか。Excuse me, does this train stop at Umeda?

With a negative verb, 〜ないかな is no longer really a question: it's a wish. 早く 来ないかな, literally “won't it come soon?”, means “I wish it would hurry up and come!”.

• バス、早く 来ないかな。バス、はやく こないかな。I wish the bus would hurry up!
• あした、雨が やまないかな。あした、あめが やまないかな。I hope it stops raining tomorrow.

かしら means exactly the same as かな. It's associated with women, especially older women, and with characters in novels and cartoons. A learner can understand it without necessarily using it: かな suits everyone.

• あの 人、だれかしら。あの ひと、だれかしら。I wonder who that is.