kažin

I Wonder with Kažin

Level 5

Kažin is a spoken particle that means I wonder or who knows. It grew out of kas žino (who knows), and it usually carries doubt: Kažin, ar jis ateis (I wonder whether he will come; I doubt it).

How It Works

How it is built

  • kažin ar + sentence: a yes-or-no doubt. Kažin ar verta. (I doubt it is worth it.)
  • kažin + question word: Kažin kur jis dabar. (I wonder where he is now.) Kažin kiek tai kainuoja? (I wonder how much that costs.)

The question after kažin works like an indirect question, so it keeps normal word order; see Indirect Yes-No Questions. You will also meet the shorter form kaži with the same meaning.

Doubt, not just curiosity
Kažin ar leans toward no. Kažin ar jis žino sounds like I doubt he knows. When you are only curious, Įdomu, ar jis žino (I wonder if he knows) is more neutral.

Kažin + a question word can mean "some ... or other"
Inside a sentence, kažin kur, kažin kas and kažin kada can simply mean somewhere, something or at some time, with a note of "who knows exactly": Jis kažin kur išvažiavo. (He went off somewhere or other.) These are always written as two words. Do not confuse them with the one-word pronouns kažkas and kažkur; see Someone and Anyone.

Punctuation
A comma after kažin is optional: both Kažin ar ... and Kažin, ar ... are correct. The sentence can end with a question mark or a full stop, because it is half a question and half a thought said aloud.

Examples (6)

  1. Kažin, ar jis ateis.

    I wonder whether he will come.

    Word by Word: Who-knows, whether he will-come.

    The speaker may suspect that he will not come.

  2. Kažin kur jis dabar.

    I wonder where he is now.

    Word by Word: Who-knows where he now.

  3. Kažin ar verta taip anksti keltis.

    I doubt it is worth getting up so early.

    Word by Word: Who-knows whether worth so early to-get-up.

  4. Kažin kiek tai kainuoja?

    I wonder how much that costs.

    Word by Word: Who-knows how-much that costs?

  5. Jis kažin kur išvažiavo.

    He went off somewhere or other.

    Word by Word: He who-knows where drove-off.

    Here kažin kur works like somewhere.

  6. Kažin, ką ji pasakytų.

    I wonder what she would say.

    Word by Word: Who-knows, what she would-say.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out ar in a yes-or-no doubt.

    Kažin jis ateis.
    Kažin ar jis ateis.

    A yes-or-no question after kažin needs ar, just as an indirect question does.

  • Using kažin as if it were the pronoun kažkas.

    Kažin paskambino.
    Kažkas paskambino.

    Kažin is a particle and cannot be the subject. For "someone called" use the pronoun kažkas.

  • Writing kažin and a question word as one word.

    Jis kažinkur išvažiavo.
    Jis kažin kur išvažiavo.

    Kažin stays a separate word: kažin kur, kažin kas, kažin kada. By contrast, kažkas, kažkur and kažkada are single words.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

kažinLevel 5I Wonder with Kažin

Learn This First

Kažin introduces a question whose answer the speaker wonders about.

Words in This Pattern

kažin