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For example, in 何曲か歌った (I sang several songs), is it なに or なん?

IIUC from here (I hope it's correct?), it is なに before nouns (except 何曜日、何日、何月), and なん before counters. But 曲 can be either, so I'm not sure.

A couple other links I found are this one and SE, but they don't seem to cover this case.

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1 Answers1

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何曲 is always read なんきょく. 曲 here is a counter - how many songs. What song would be [何]{なん}の曲 or どの曲.

A case where both are possible: 何色 is read なにいろ/なんしょく.

  • 空は[何色]{なにいろ}？ What color is the sky?
  • 虹は[何色]{なんしょく}？ How many colors are there in a rainbow?

Further explanations here.

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  • But 何県ですか (なに) is possible right? So why is 何曲ですか in the sense of a noun is incorrect, and requires の after 何？ – max Jan 31 '22 at 18:14
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    なにけん is *which prefecture* and なんけん is *how many prefectures*. The same rule still applies (なん for *how many*). – sundowner Jan 31 '22 at 23:45
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    Thanks! So to clarify, similar to 何県 なにけん, "which prefecture", 何曲 can also be なにきょく in the sense of "which song"? Or there's some unrelated rule that prohibits the use of 何曲 in this sense? – max Feb 01 '22 at 02:34
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    @max I was missing some of your points. First 何（なん）+ counter in non questions means *several*, as in 何曲かうたった. Second, なにきょく is not possible. I don't think there is a clear rule, but it seems to me that 県/色 are more of exceptions in that なに/なん are both possible (with direct attachment). – sundowner Feb 01 '22 at 03:25
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    @max - When you say [何人]{なにじん}, [何色]{なにいろ}, [何県]{なにけん}, etc., your choice is somewhat limited, and what is provided as an answer has a specific name like アメリカ人, 黄色, and 神奈川県. 何 can be understood as meaning “which of a limited set of well known things”. That’s not the case with songs. I guess that’s the difference. – aguijonazo Feb 01 '22 at 04:07
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    Thanks! It seems, unrelated to my question, the choice of 何+Noun vs 何の+Noun is quite tricky. Surprisingly, didn't find it covered either here on SE, or on any grammar sites. Maybe worth asking as a new question. – max Feb 01 '22 at 07:37