Development of なんか？


Is there anymore to the usage of なんか that isn't saying "something", but rather
something like, or along the lines of? I know the two are very similar, but
using なんか at the end of a sentence seems to be very clear syntactically, while
using it to modify a noun seems weird, especially given the か at the end-
further kanji isn't generally used, I don't think. So is there more to it? Is
there a more formal way of saying it that would make sense syntactically?




My answer will be based on the assumption that OP is talking about when 「なんか」
is indeed followed, not preceded, by a noun as s/he so states in the comments
(but not in the question).

In **informal** conversation, there actually exists such a structure.

> "なんか + Noun + みたいな（のような） + Noun"

For instance, I have little appetite when I have a fever. Since I do not want
to eat a regular meal, I would say to someone:

> 「なんかゼリーかヨーグルトみたいなもの、いくつか[買]{か}ってきてくれる？」
>
> "Could you go get some jello or yogurt type of things for me?"

In this sentence, your TL "along the lines of" is spot-on. **Note that in this
case, 「なんか」 can be replaced by 「なにか」.**

**EDIT:**

Just in case, I will briefly talk about when 「なんか」 is preceded by a noun.
There are two main usages of this structure.

1) Citing an instance.

> A: どこか[暖]{あたた}かいところに行きたいなあ。"I'd love to go someplace warm."
>
> B: 暖かいところ？サイパンなんかどう？ "Someplace warm? How about Saipan?"

2) Making light of something.

> 「[愛]{あい}なんかいらない！[金]{かね}が[欲]{ほ}しい！」 "I don't want love! I want money!"

**Note that when 「なんか」 is preceded by a noun, it cannot be replaced by
「なにか」.**

