どこか details
somewhere — どこ plus か, a place the speaker cannot or need not name + go
dokokani iku
somewhere — どこ plus か, a place the speaker cannot or need not name
meaning: go somewhere
週末はどこかに出かけるつもりです。
shuumatsu wa dokokani dekakeru tsumori desu.
I'm planning to go out somewhere this weekend. neutral
今度の休み、どっか行こうよ。
kondo no yasumi, dokka ikou yo.
Let's go somewhere on the next day off. casual
- contraction
- alternant
Examples
somewhere — the place is left open, either because the speaker does not know it or because any one will do
週末はどこかに出かけるつもりです。
shuumatsu wa dokokanidekakeru tsumori desu.
I'm planning to go out somewhere this weekend. neutral
今度の休み、どっか行こうよ。
kondo no yasumi, dokka ikou yo.
Let's go somewhere on the next day off. casual
鍵をどこかに置き忘れてしまったみたいです。
kagi o dokoka ni okiwasurete shimatta mitai desu.
It seems I've left my keys somewhere. neutral
どこかでお会いしたことはありませんか。
dokoka de o ai shita koto wa arimasen ka.
Haven't we met somewhere before? formal
よろしければ、どこかで少しお休みになりませんか。
yoroshikereba, dokoka de sukoshi o yasumi ni narimasen ka.
If you'd like, won't you rest somewhere for a little while? formal
Formation
どこかに{V}attaches to dictionary formどこかで{V}attaches to dictionary form
Variant notes
- どっか — the spoken form, casual speech only — どっか寄ってく?
- どこかへ — へ in place of に where the place is a destination — どこかへ行きたい.
Notes
どれか — and each keeps the particle its verb wants (誰かに聞く).
Related patterns
Similar
Both duck a specific answer, but とか is casual speech and gets there by naming a sample member (カフェとかで会おう), while どこか names no member at all and stays register-neutral, so it is what a formal request uses (どこかで少々お待ちいただけますか).
Lookalikes
Same どこ, and the particle after it flips the sentence — か opens ONE unnamed place, も sweeps every place and demands a negative (どこにも置いてない); どこか survives a negative only outside its scope (どこかに行かないと), so the plain negation of どこかに行った is どこにも行かなかった.
Both are the particle か and the two co-occur freely (どこか行きましたか) — the sentence-final one asks about the whole clause, this one only refuses to name the place, and in casual speech the asking half is carried by intonation alone (どこか行った?).