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I think this sentence:

> あまり日がささまいためか、どれもひょろひょろとした貧弱な木だ

means something like "Since they get too much sunlight, they are shabby
trees", but while I know `ために` I can't find anything about `ためか` in my
grammars; I was wondering if they have the same meaning.
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2019-09-12T12:59:12.067
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2019-09-12T17:01:56.173
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question
grammar particle-に particle-か
Is ためか the same as ために?
No, ためか and ために don't mean the same thing -- just as か and に do not mean the
same thing.

The か in ためか is the same か used as the verbal question mark. This indicates
uncertainty and indefiniteness.

_(Separately, I'm pretty sure you have a typo, where ささまい should be ささない
instead.)_

If the sentence said あまり日がささないため[に]{●}, that would be a definite reason.
However, the sentence instead says あまり日がささないため[か]{●}, indicating that the
speaker is uncertain, and is proposing a possible theoretical reason for the
observed result. In English, we would use words like _maybe_ , _perhaps_ ,
_possibly_ , and the like to express a similar idea.
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2019-09-12T17:00:45.627
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answer