Understanding なんだか


If you look up なんだか in a dictionary it's translated as "for some reason" or
"somehow" but sometimes it seems it's being used more in the sense of "kinda"
or "somewhat". How exactly should I interpret it? Is it distinct from なぜか in
meaning? For instance, if a person says

> " **なんだか** 嬉しい",

are they saying "I'm kinda happy" or "I feel happy, for some reason"? What
about when a person says

> " **なんだか** とても嬉しい"?

Does なんだか indicate degree of intensity at all?




You shouldn't interpret it "exactly" at all, because it conveys a sense of
vagueness, a sense of not knowing quite why or how the current situation came
about. It is indeed a conversational filler, and it looks as though you have
understood it well. (If by "interpret" you mean "translate into English", then
that is a whole different (big!) question -- translating the atmosphere of
dialogue is very difficult.)




You shouldn't interpret it "exactly" at all, because it conveys a sense of
vagueness, a sense of not knowing quite why or how the current situation came
about. It is indeed a conversational filler, and it looks as though you have
understood it well. (If by "interpret" you mean "translate into English", then
that is a whole different (big!) question -- translating the atmosphere of
dialogue is very difficult.)

