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N4Lesson notes · Nov 2, 2026

Kke in Japanese: how do you say "what was it again?" with だっけ

〜っけ is a sentence-ending particle that means "what was it again?": you once knew something, it slipped, and you are pulling it back — and it works on present facts as well as past ones.

Learners usually meet it as a past-tense thing, because the famous forms are だったっけ and でしたっけ. That belief causes two problems: people avoid っけ for things that are not past, and they bolt it onto the wrong kind of word. Once you see what it actually does, the whole system fits in one table.

The basics

What does っけ mean?

っけ marks a question about something you used to know. It is the Japanese way of saying "what was it again?", "was it...?", or "wasn't it...?" while you search your memory. It always carries the feeling "I had this, and now it's gone."

今日きょうって何曜日なんようびだっけ。 — What day is it today again? (casual, you knew it a minute ago) ホテルはどこだったっけ。 — Where was the hotel again? (casual, you have been there or booked it)

That presupposition is the whole point. If you have never known the answer, you do not use っけ; you use a plain question.

How do you attach it to a word?

Use the plain form, then add っけ. What changes is how the word before it looks.

  • Nouns and な-adjectives: add だっけ (present) or だったっけ (past form).
  • Verbs: んだっけ for the present or future, たっけ for the past (the plain past verb plus っけ).
  • い-adjectives: んだっけ for the present, かったっけ for the past.
  • Nouns can also take なんだっけ, the same んだ as above (今日きょう、休やすみなんだっけ).

会議かいぎは来週らいしゅうだっけ。 — The meeting is next week, right? (casual, noun plus だっけ) 傘かさ、持もってきたっけ。 — Did I bring an umbrella? (casual, plain past verb plus っけ) 明日あしたも来くるんだっけ。 — Is (someone) coming tomorrow too, again? (casual, verb plus んだっけ; who is clear from context)

The んだ in んだっけ is the same explanatory んだ you already know from のだ. It turns a verb or い-adjective into a statement about a situation, and that is what lets っけ sit on it.

What are the polite versions?

Swap the plain copula for the polite one. でしたっけ is not only "past": 会議かいぎは明日あしたでしたっけ checks a present or future fact too, just as だったっけ does. For verbs, the polite present check is んでしたっけ or んですっけ, and the polite past is ましたっけ. ですっけ is also very common at work as a lighter present check, as in 何なんですっけ.

Form Feel Goes on Example
〜だっけ Casual, friends and family Nouns, な-adjectives 集合場所しゅうごうばしょって駅えきだっけ
〜だったっけ Casual Nouns, な-adjectives 集合場所しゅうごうばしょって駅えきだったっけ
〜んだっけ Casual Verbs, い-adjectives, and nouns as なんだっけ 明日あした、来くるんだっけ / 今日きょう、休やすみなんだっけ
〜ですっけ Polite, light check on a current fact Nouns, な-adjectives 会議かいぎ、何時なんじからですっけ
〜でしたっけ Polite, fine at work and with a teacher Nouns, な-adjectives 会議かいぎは10時じからでしたっけ
〜んでしたっけ Polite check on a present or future plan Verbs, い-adjectives, nouns as なんでしたっけ 明日あした、来くるんでしたっけ
〜んですっけ Polite, lighter version of the row above Verbs, い-adjectives, nouns as なんですっけ 明日あした、来くるんですっけ
〜ましたっけ Polite, past Verbs 資料しりょう、お送おくりしましたっけ

Is でしたっけ OK with your boss, a coworker, or your teacher? Yes. It is ordinary polite Japanese; the only thing it says about you is that you forgot, which people do all day. What is too casual for those people is the plain row: だっけ and だったっけ sound like talking to a friend. With a customer, though, "what was your name again?" in any form is risky. A phrase like お名前なまえを伺うかがってもよろしいでしょうか avoids admitting you forgot.

Beyond the basics

How do you ask someone versus mutter to yourself?

The words are the same; the delivery decides. Asking someone is a question with rising intonation, usually with eye contact or a lead-in like ねえ or あのさ. Muttering is flat or falling, voice lowered, eyes elsewhere, often stretched with なあ or えーと.

ねえ、飲み会のみかいって金曜きんようだっけ? — Hey, was the drinking party Friday? (casual, rising, addressed to a person) えーと、鍵かぎ、どこだったっけなあ… — Um, where was the key again... (casual, falling, to yourself)

The listener reads those cues to decide whether to answer. If you are looking at them with a question mark in your voice, answer. A question word (何曜日なんようびだっけ) gets the information itself; a check (金曜きんようだっけ) gets うん/いや plus the fact, like うん、金曜きんようだよ or いや、土曜どようだよ. If you are looking at the ceiling, a reply is optional, and people often just wait. Offering the answer anyway is not rude; it is usually welcome. People do murmur polite forms at work, such as あれ、何なんでしたっけ…, but when nobody is addressed the plain 何なんだっけ is the more common murmur. A tacked-on か, as in 何なんだっけか, is also casual self-talk.

Does っけ only go on past things?

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. っけ checks a piece of information you once had. Whether the fact is true now has nothing to do with the tense.

今日きょうって何曜日なんようびだっけ。 — What day of the week is it today again? (casual, the day is right now) 明日あしたって休やすみだっけ。 — Is tomorrow a day off? (casual, a future fact, no past anywhere)

So why does the past form keep appearing? A useful memory aid, not a strict rule: the thing you are recalling is when you learned it, and that moment was in the past. 誕生日たんじょうびはいつだったっけ asks about a fact that is still true; the だった points back at the moment you heard it. Both forms are normal for the same fact. The difference is small: だっけ treats the fact as a current state, and だったっけ (like でしたっけ) is just a bit softer and more tentative, like digging in memory. If you want the past tense itself reviewed, start with the ました and た past forms.

Where does the nostalgic 〜たっけ come from?

A related use, which works differently, shows up when someone looks back with feeling rather than checking a fact. In songs, anime, and novels you will hear 〜たっけ and 〜したっけなあ: "didn't we used to...?" or "I remember doing...".

子供こどもの頃ころ、よくここで遊あそんだっけなあ。 — I used to play here a lot as a kid, didn't I... (casual, wistful, to yourself)

Nobody is asking you anything here and no answer is wanted, which is why it differs from the checking use above.

What happens in fast casual speech?

Speakers cut the front off. 何なんだっけ, 誰だれだっけ, and どこだっけ often lose everything else and stand alone. A very common shape is "topic + って + question word + だっけ".

あの映画えいが、タイトル何なんだっけ。 — What was that movie's title again? (casual, topic then question word) あれ、誰だれだっけ。 — Who was that again? (casual, usually under your breath)

If you are trying to remember the word for the act itself, the difference between remembering and recalling and the verb for forgetting are the neighbours of this ending.

Common mistakes

  • Putting っけ directly on a plain い-adjective. Both 高たかいっけ and 寒さむいっけ occur in casual speech, but they are non-standard. Learn 〜かったっけ (高たかかったっけ, "was it expensive?") and 〜いんだっけ (高たかいんだっけ, "is it expensive again?").
  • Using っけ for something you never knew. If you are new in town and need the station, ask 駅えきはどこですか. 駅えきはどこでしたっけ says you have been told before and have forgotten.
  • Using plain だっけ with your boss or teacher. It is not rude in the sense of being offensive, but it sounds like talking to a friend. Use でしたっけ or ましたっけ.
  • Answering a question-word っけ with はい or いいえ. 何曜日なんようびだっけ wants the information itself (金曜きんようですよ). Only a check like 金曜きんようだっけ takes うん/いや.

Practice

Do each one before you open the answer. Questions 1 and 2 are a pair (casual and polite), and so are 7 and 8.

1. Say casually: "The meeting is next week, right?"

Show answer

会議かいぎは来週らいしゅうだっけ — a future fact is fine, so non-past だっけ goes straight onto the noun.

2. Say politely to your manager: "Where was the meeting room again?"

Show answer

会議室かいぎしつはどこでしたっけ — でしたっけ is the polite form of だったっけ, so it fits a boss.

3. Fix this: 安やすいっけ?

Show answer

安やすかったっけ / 安やすいんだっけ — 安やすいっけ occurs in casual speech but is non-standard; learn 〜かったっけ and 〜いんだっけ.

4. Say casually: "Are you coming to the party too, again?"

Show answer

パーティー、田中たなかさんも来くるんだっけ — verbs in the present take んだっけ, not 来くるっけ.

5. Say politely: "Did I already pay?"

Show answer

もう払はらいましたっけ — a past verb in polite speech ends in ましたっけ.

6. You have just arrived in a new city. Why is 図書館としょかんはどこだっけ odd to ask a passer-by?

Show answer

It claims you once knew the answer. Without that, a plain question like 図書館としょかんはどこですか is correct.

7. You are alone, looking for your glasses. Mutter "Where did I put them?"

Show answer

メガネ、どこに置おいたっけなあ — plain たっけ with a falling, drawn-out なあ; nobody is expected to answer.

8. Ask your sister the same thing, so that she knows she should reply.

Show answer

ねえ、私わたしのメガネ、どこに置おいたっけ? — the ねえ, eye contact and rising pitch turn the same words into a question aimed at her.

9. Finish the wistful line: 昔むかし、よくこの道みちを歩あるいた___なあ。

Show answer

っけ — 歩あるいたっけなあ is the nostalgic 〜たっけ, remembering aloud with no answer expected.

FAQ

Is っけ the same as かな? No. かな wonders about something you may not know ("I wonder if..."). っけ is pulling back something you did know. 明日あしたは雨あめかな guesses the weather; 明日あしたは雨あめだっけ checks a forecast you already heard.

Can I use だっけ with a teacher if I am being friendly? Better not. If you are friendly with the teacher, でしたっけ already sounds friendly enough; plain だっけ is a step into friend territory that is easy to avoid.

Is there a difference between でしたっけ and ですっけ? Both are polite. ですっけ is a light check on a current fact (何なんですっけ); でしたっけ sounds a little more careful and also covers things you were told earlier. Start with でしたっけ.

Can I use っけ in writing? Mostly in dialogue, messages to friends, and fiction. In formal writing, such as a report or an email to a client, it reads as spoken and is avoided.

Does っけ have a negative form? Yes: 〜じゃなかったっけ, as in あの店みせ、休やすみじゃなかったっけ ("wasn't that shop closed?"). You are checking a memory you doubt, and the answer can be either: うん、休やすみだよ or いや、やってるよ.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab.

曜日	ようび — day of the week
会議	かいぎ — meeting
集合	しゅうごう — gathering, meeting up
傘	かさ — umbrella
鍵	かぎ — key
資料	しりょう — materials, documents
飲み会	のみかい — drinking party
子供	こども — child
遊ぶ	あそぶ — to play
払う	はらう — to pay
置く	おく — to put, to place
図書館	としょかん — library
映画	えいが — movie
休み	やすみ — day off
メガネ	めがね — glasses
店	みせ — shop

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard learners ask about — including this one, which comes up whenever people try to recall something mid-conversation. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

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