かな

かな ends a sentence with "I wonder": the speaker is asking themselves, out loud or in their head. It goes after the plain form. A noun or a な-adjective drops だ before it, though past だった stays.

• × 雨だかな → 雨かな

"Should I…?"

After the volitional form, かな turns the question onto your own next move: you are making up your mind, or announcing a decision softly.

Usage notes

These go beyond wondering to yourself.

Asking someone gently

Said to another person, かな asks without pressing for an answer. With ないかな or てもいいかな it turns into a soft request.

かな or かしら

かしら means the same and attaches the same way. It sounds older and is mostly women's speech; かな is what everyone uses.

Register

かな is casual. In polite speech the usual frame is かなとおもいます思います, or a question with でしょうか.