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In [どうしたの？] the の is seeking explanation right?

What's the diffence between [どうしたの？] and [どうしたのか？] ?

both are casual speaking but is the first one more feminine?

I know the formal one would be [どうしたのですか？]

Thank you :)

Felipe Chaves de Oliveira
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  • [どうしたんですか] is more natural. – Takahiro Waki Oct 01 '16 at 02:32
  • I hear a lot in animes ［どうしていたの？] , but I have lately noticed it more on the female characters so I am not sure if adding か, in the end will turn it more male oriented in casual speech. I've heard that in affirmation like [行きたいの！] gives the idea of immaturity and mainly of girly talk if you do not put だ or です at the end. – Felipe Chaves de Oliveira Oct 01 '16 at 02:37
  • Yes, どうしたの is feminine word. – Takahiro Waki Oct 01 '16 at 03:17
  • @TakahiroWaki Are you from western Japan, if not a foreigner? – user4092 Oct 02 '16 at 03:15
  • @user4092 My both parents are from tokyo. I live in kanagawa where is neiborhood of tokyo. – Takahiro Waki Oct 02 '16 at 10:18
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    I'm sorry. I believed it was rare for people around there to sense that it's particularly a feminine expression. I've just learned something new. – user4092 Oct 02 '16 at 14:20

3 Answers3

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どうしたの？ is often considered feminine, but many guys use it, too (though it might depend on the region).

You don't really say どうしたのか？ to mean "What's wrong?" in conversation.*
You'd rather say どうしたんだ？ or just どうした？ to sound masculine.

You'd use ～のか？ in yes-no questions, as in:

  • どうしたんだ？お[腹]{なか}が[痛]{いた}いのか？
    What's wrong? Do you have a stomachache?
  • [何]{なに}してるんだ？[勉強]{べんきょう}してるのか？
    What are you doing? Are you studying?
  • どこに[行]{い}ってたんだ？[学校]{がっこう}には行ったのか？
    Where have you been? Did you go to school?

The examples above would sound pretty masculine. To sound feminine, you could say like 「どうしたの？お腹が痛いの？」「何してるの？勉強してるの？」「どこに行ってたの？学校には行ったの？」

And yes, its polite/formal version is どうしたのですか？
In speech, it's usually pronounced どうしたんですか？

*You might see 「何/どう/どこ etc + のか？/のだろうか？のであろうか？etc」 in formal but not polite writing. You'd also see 「何/どう/どこ etc + か」 in subordinate clauses, eg 「何をしているのか、わからない。」

Chocolate
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  • ohh thank you, clears it up everything! i didn't know you could use だ in a question, but since it is casual speech it doesn't matter right? using だ for a question is acceptable only on conversations or in a more casual writing too? – Felipe Chaves de Oliveira Oct 10 '16 at 00:18
  • Actually, in *formal* but *not polite* writing (e.g. essay, novel, academic paper), you'd see 「何/どう/どこ etc + の**か** ？/のだろう**か** ？/のであろう**か** ？etc」 rather than 「何/どう/どこ etc + だ？」. I'm not sure if this applies to all cases but I have a feeling that 「何/どう/どこ etc + の？/ のだ？」 is pretty conversational (You'd use it in casual emails/letters too, of course). – Chocolate Oct 10 '16 at 03:35
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According to the "Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" page 322:
"の is sentence-final particle used by a female speaker or a child to indicate an explanation or emotive emphasis."

So the の used at the end of the sentence is used for emphasis.

hisao m
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  • And does the book say it also applies to interrogative sentences? – Chocolate Oct 08 '16 at 17:26
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    yes i have this doubt too, because i'm aware that affirmative sentences ending with の instead of のだ or のです are feminine/childish, but does it applies to interrogative ones? I hear things like [どうしたの？] mainly from girls in anime (but of course i know anime speech is not always what japanese people use daily) – Felipe Chaves de Oliveira Oct 08 '16 at 23:23
  • Yes, it applies to interrrogative sentences. It even has the sentence どうしたの? as an example. – hisao m Oct 09 '16 at 03:35
  • Sorry, I meant to ask whether the statement "the の used at the end of the sentence is used for emphasis" applies to interrogative sentences. And I doubt it does. I think the の at the end of interrogative sentences indicates explanation, not emphasis. – Chocolate Oct 09 '16 at 05:31
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The explanatory [の] particle　is usually use in casual speech to make actual question.

In casual speech, The question marker [か] is often used to consider whether something is true or not.

By using [のか], you would be requesting a yes-no-answer along with an explanatory answer afterward.

[か] :

"Is there any problem ?

[の] :

"What is the problem ?"

[のか] :

"Is there any problem ? If yes, then what it is ?"

Narutokage
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  • oh, that's helpful! Any insight on the feminine/childish tone that ending an interrogative sentence with の only could bring? Thank you! – Felipe Chaves de Oliveira Oct 08 '16 at 23:24
  • [の] does sound very soft and feminine, but I'm not sure whether [の] is more feminine than [のか]. – Narutokage Oct 09 '16 at 01:07
  • Ending with のですか？ would make it more masculine in your opinion? But as a result it would become polite speech right? – Felipe Chaves de Oliveira Oct 09 '16 at 01:43
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    This is a very good answer to your question about the difference between [か] and [のか]: http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/18613/what-is-the-meaning-of-%E3%81%AE%E3%81%8B-and-how-does-it-differ-from-%E3%81%8B – Narutokage Oct 09 '16 at 03:05