Please explain the grammar behind how 何か is used in this sentence


I'm translating it as

There must surely be a story there

But I don't understand what 何か is doing. Can I translate it as "something of a story", or "some story"? Two nouns next to each other seems odd. Thanks.

  • 1
    Sounds natural to me. Not sure of the context. Could it be "has something to talk about"? – kiss-o-matic Mar 16 '15 at 19:17


This 「なにか」 is frequently used in the form of 「なにか + Noun/Noun phrase + Verb/Verb phrase」 and it means:

"Verb + 'some sort of' + Noun"

This would generally indicate that one has not found out the exact nature of the "thing" described by the noun (and one would like to find out more about it). It is only natural to use 「なにか」 if you have little knowledge of the thing you are speaking about.

Without further context, my translation would be:

"There must be some kind of (untold) story there."

"There has got to be a deeper story (or "reason") behind it."


Your translation is good, you can't really translate 何か, but if you want a closer translation :

There must surely be kind of a story there

Your Answer

