かしら

かしら goes at the end of a sentence and means "I wonder": you are asking yourself, or thinking aloud, rather than putting a question to someone. A verb or an い-adjective comes before it in the plain form, and a noun or a な-adjective takes it directly, with no だ.

In the past, だ comes back as だった: だいじょうぶ大丈夫だったかしら. In the present it drops out.

• × 大丈夫だかしら → 大丈夫かしら

かしら or かな

かな means the same and attaches the same way. かしら is traditionally women's speech, and today it sounds older or more refined; in everyday conversation most younger speakers, women included, say かな. You meet かしら most in novels, dramas and anime, in the lines of older women and of characters written as well-bred ladies.

Usage notes

These go beyond wondering aloud.

Asking softly

After a negative request – きごう〜てくれない, きごう〜てもらえない – かしら turns the wondering into a gentle request.

After です and ます

かしら can also follow the polite form, which gives a refined, rather formal question.