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I've come across this sentence in my manga.

> そ そうか そういう疑いを持っているのか

It's actually fairly easy, but the particle at the end has confused me. I
thought it was the two particles `の` and `か`, but then I saw this in a
dictionary:

> のか - Particle - endorsing and questioning the preceding statement (sentence
> ending particle); lamenting reflections on the preceding statement (sentence
> ending particle)

That seems to fit, because it's at the end of the sentence, and he's
commenting on what another character said to themselves. But beyond that, I
have little idea of what this means. Is it actually a question particle
similar to か? When would you use this instead?
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2011-10-12T02:01:56.020
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particles definitions formal-nouns particle-か
のか - Particle "lamenting reflections on the preceding statement". What?
This `の` is called a formal noun, and has a very general meaning that can be
translated to English as 'the case', 'the fact', or 'the situation', and it
heads an appositive clause. It is the same `の` used in the `のだ` consruction.
It typically implies that the appositive clause is an explanation to the
previous context. It has pretty much similar implications that the English
`the case that ...` implies.

> ... **の** だ  
>  'It is **the case** that ... .'
>
> ... **の** で ...  
>  'Things being **the case** that ... , ... .'
>
> ... **の** か  
>  'Is it **the case** that ... ?'
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2011-10-12T04:17:50.757
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2011-10-12T04:23:20.097
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sawa's answer explains the の, but I feel のか _as used in the question_ hasn't
been fully explained.

It doesn't correspond well in this situation to "is it the case that...?",
because that is a question that demands an answer. This particular use of のか
doesn't. I doubt it would be said with a questioning tone.

" **So** you have that/those kind(s) of doubt(s)/suspicion(s)/question(s)
(about it), **huh**."

I believe this is [sense 二[7] of か in
Daijisen](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%8B-223839#E3.83.87.E3.82.B8.E3.82.BF.E3.83.AB.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.B3.89):

> ７ 引用した句の意味やある事実を確かめ、自分自身に言い聞かせる意を表す。「急がば回れ―」「そろそろ寝るとする―」

and [sense 四[9] of か in
Daijirin](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%8B-223839#E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.9E.97.20.E7.AC.AC.E4.B8.89.E7.89.88):

> ⑨ 独り合点の気持ちを表す。詠嘆・回想の気持ちが強い。  
>  「『春はあけぼの』か、いい文句だな」  
>  「そうか、失敗だったのか」

The word "ponder", which Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams used in a comment to the
original question, seems to fit quite well as a description of what this か is
doing.
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answer