Questions with 辞書形　and raising tone and 辞書形＋の？ I was tonight with japanese friends and I noticed they rather used a simple form along with a raising tone to ask a question, although we learned in class that "non-polite" questions were formed with +. Is there a difference between the two ? From this topic "Is ending question sentences with really feminine?" I gathered that might have a feminine touch when used along with statements, but what about questions in general ? Can I use without sounding like a weirdo ? I also heard the two, along with no-verb questions in an anime I'm currently watching, Ergo Proxy, but I guess these are used whenever the verb and/or subject are well defined by the context... To summarize with examples : * * * What's the difference between the above examples ? Can I use any of those in any given situation ? Thanks,

> Can I use without sounding like a weirdo ?

Yes.

> Is there a difference between the two ?

Yes. A question with is usually asking about a reason, or following up on a piece of information. For example, means "are you studying?", and might have undertones of "is _that_ why (e.g.) you can't come out tonight?", whereas is a straightforward yes/no question. Compare ("I am studying") with ("(it's because) I am studying").