っけ is a casual sentence-ending particle used to check or recall something. 何時だっけ asks for a time the speaker is trying to remember. Verbs can appear with a past form, as in 言ったっけ, or with んだっけ for a current or future matter, as in 来るんだっけ. でしたっけ gives a politer tone.
also written kke / だっけ / たっけ / でしたっけ
what was it again? — retrieving something you knew · did I…? — checking your own memory
Sentences
6 sentences, word by word
だっけ · a time you were told
plain
、。
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明日
あした ［3］
tomorrow
noun · read あした in speech, あす in announcements
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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会議
かいぎ ［1］
meeting
noun · a formal meeting, the kind with an agenda
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何時
なんじ ［1］
what time
question word · 何 ＋ 時, read なんじ for clock time
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だっけ
だっけ
was it again?
だ ＋ っけ · a noun needs だ before っけ
だっけN3what was it again?
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What time was tomorrow's meeting again?
たっけ · checking your own memory
plain
、。
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鍵
かぎ ［2］
key; lock
noun · the key, and by extension the lock it works
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閉めた
しめた
closed; locked
plain past of 閉める · transitive, so you did the locking
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っけ
っけ
did I…?
particle · asking your own memory to produce the answer
たっけN3did I…?
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Did I lock the door?
だっけ · a name you were given
plain
、。
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君
きみ ［0］
you
pronoun · casual, and slightly down or level — not upward
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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名前
なまえ ［0］
name
noun · お名前 with the honorific when asking politely
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何
なん ［1］
what
question word · read なん before だ
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だった
だった
was
plain past copula · the retrieval marker, not a past name
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っけ
っけ
again?
particle · admits you were told and have lost it
だっけN3what was it again?
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Your name was — what was it again?
んだっけ · a future arrangement
plain
。
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彼
かれ ［1］
he
pronoun · also means boyfriend, decided by context
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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明日
あした ［3］
tomorrow
noun · a time word, so it needs no particle
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来る
くる ［1］
comes
irregular verb · dictionary form, kept non-past by the んだ
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んだっけ
んだっけ
…right?
んだ ＋ っけ · common way to check a nonpast verb statement
んだっけN3…was it?
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He's coming tomorrow, isn't he?
でしたっけ · the polite version
polite
。
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お名前
おなまえ
your name
honorific noun · the お belongs to the listener's name
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は
は
as for — the topic
particle · written は, read わ
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何
なん ［1］
what
question word · read なん before でした
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でしたっけ
でしたっけ
was it again?
polite past ＋ っけ · softer, though still informal in register
でしたっけN3what was it again?
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What was your name again?
っけ · confirming what you said
plain
？
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そんな
そんな
that kind of
demonstrative · pointing at what the other person just reported
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こと
こと
the act of; the fact of
noun · turns the verb in front into a noun
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言った
いった
said
plain past of 言う · read いった, pronounced ゆった
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っけ
っけ
did I?
particle · you are searching your own memory, not denying it
たっけN3did I…?
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Did I say something like that?
Structure
What っけ attaches to
何時 / 誰 / どこ＋だっけ
何時だっけ. だっけ is common with nouns; shorter colloquial forms also occur.
閉めた / 言った＋っけ
鍵、閉めたっけ. The past form can refer to a past action whose result matters now.
来る＋んだっけ
彼は来るんだっけ. The んだ keeps the verb non-past, which is how you ask about a future arrangement you were told about.
Noun / stem＋でしたっけ
お名前は何でしたっけ. Polite, and still only for something you were told once and have lost.
Meaning
How っけ checks remembered details
It asks you to retrieve, not to learn.っけ presupposes the information once reached you. That is why it is fine for a name you were given and rude-sounding for a name you never asked — you are claiming to have been told.
The form reflects the event being checked.鍵、閉めたっけ asks whether you locked the door: た marks that past locking action. 明日、何時だっけ can ask about a future time because the speaker is checking a remembered detail.
For nonpast verbs, んだっけ is a common pattern.彼は来るんだっけ checks a future arrangement. Bare 来るっけ also occurs colloquially, so んだ is useful rather than obligatory.
It is casual, and the polite form is only half a step up.でしたっけ is fine with a colleague and thin with a customer. For especially formal situations, the question can be rephrased: 恐れ入りますが、お名前をもう一度.
Watch out
Where っけ goes wrong
Using it for something you were never told
っけ claims the information once reached you. Asking a stranger お名前は何でしたっけ when you have never met implies they already introduced themselves.
Putting a dictionary form in front of it
For a future arrangement, 来るんだっけ is a standard way to ask. Bare 来るっけ is colloquial rather than impossible.
Reading the past form as past time
In 閉めたっけ, た marks the past locking action. A future time can still be checked with 明日、何時だっけ.
Treating でしたっけ as fully polite
でしたっけ is politer than だっけ. It can be suitable with colleagues or customers depending on the relationship; in a very formal exchange, rephrase the question.
Also asked
Questions people ask about っけ
Why does っけ take the past form?
In 閉めたっけ, た marks the past action of closing. だっけ can still check a future time, as in 明日、何時だっけ. The speaker checks a remembered detail, but the past verb form follows the time of the action it describes. The thing you are asking about can sit anywhere in time, including tomorrow.
Am I asking myself or the other person?
Either, and the sentence does not distinguish. 鍵、閉めたっけ muttered alone is self-directed; the same sentence to a friend asks them to confirm.
Is っけ rude?
でしたっけ can also work upward depending on relationship; in very formal situations, rephrase the question.
Can I use っけ with a noun directly?
だっけ is the standard form with a noun, as in 何時だっけ. A reduced 何時っけ also occurs in colloquial speech.
