Tell people your hopes and wishes using 'kana'

Hayaku natsu ni naranai kanā.

(I wish it would be summer soon.)

Situation 1: Takako is speaking with her mother.

たか子：早く夏にならないかなあ。

母：え、ちょっと早いんじゃない？まだ五月よ。

Takako: Hayaku natsu ni naranai kanā.

Haha: E, chotto hayai-n ja nai? Mada go-gatsu yo.

Takako: I wish it would be summer soon.

Mom: Huh? Isn’t it a bit early? It’s still May.

The structures Xかな(あ) and Xたらどんなにいいか express a hope or wish. Xかな(あ) means “one hopes X” or “one wishes X,” and appears in casual conversation in the form of a rhetorical statement:

明日(あした)晴(は)れないかなあ。

(I hope it’ll be sunny tomorrow.)

Literally, this sentence reads something like, “Tomorrow, won’t it be clear, I hope.” Though “X” is a verb in the negative nai-form, the sentence is an affirmative statement.

課長(かちょう)の話(はなし)が早(はや)く終(お)わらないかな。

(I hope our section chief’s speech will end soon.)

In the Xかな(あ) pattern, “X” can also be a verb in potential form:

あの大学(だいがく)に入(はい)れないかなあ。

(I wish I could enter that university.)

When “X” is a verb in potential form, it can be combined with ようにならないかな(あ) to mean “one hopes they will become able to X”:

彼女(かのじょ)みたいに何カ国語(なんかこくご)も話(はな)せるようにならないかな。

(I wish I could become able to speak multiple languages like her.)

When the speaker wishes another person would do something for them, “Xてくれないかな(あ)” is commonly used:

うちの店(みせ)にお客(きゃく)さんがたくさん来(き)てくれないかな。

(I wish a lot of customers would come to our shop.)

Situation 2: Mr. Mita and his colleague, Mr. Sere, are chatting online.

三田：新型コロナウイルスのせいで、何をするにも心配だね。

セレ：ああ、流行が収束したらどんなにいいか。

Mita: Shingata koronauirusu no sei de, nani o suru nimo shinpai da ne.

Sere: Ā, ryūkō ga shūsoku shitara donna ni ii ka.

Mita: The novel coronavirus makes you worry whatever you do, huh?

Sere: Ah, how I wish the epidemic would come to a resolution.

The structure Xたらどんなにいいか, in which “X” is a verb in its tara-form, carries the nuance that the speaker strongly hopes or wishes “X” will be realized:

あのコンサートの切符(きっぷ)が取(と)れたらどんなにいいか。

(How I wish I could get tickets for that concert)

彼(かれ)が振(ふ)り向(む)いてくれたらどんなにいいか。

(How wonderful would it be if he just turned around and came back to me.)

Bonus Dialogue: Continued from Situation 2.

三田(みた)：誰(だれ)か新型(しんがた)コロナウイルスに効(き)く薬(くすり)を開発(かいはつ)してくれないかな。

セレ：それには時間(じかん)がかなりかかるらしいよ。それよりは、今(いま)ある薬で、効きそうなものを使(つか)うのが先(さき)だよ。あとは、ワクチンだ。早く開発されないかなあ。

三田：そうか。まだまだ先が長(なが)いなあ。本当(ほんとう)に世界(せかい)がすっかり変(か)わってしまいそうだね。オリンピックも延期(えんき)になっちゃったし。

セレ：ああ、社会(しゃかい)が元(もと)に戻(もど)ったら、どんなにいいか。でも、なかなかそうはいかないよね。

三田：経済(けいざい)も大(おお)きな打撃(だげき)を受(う)けているから、将来(しょうらい)がわからなくて不安(ふあん)だな。

セレ：うん。仕事(しごと)もリモートワークになっていて、三田君(みたくん)と喋(しゃべ)るのもオンラインだしね。

三田：うん、こういう深刻(しんこく)な状態(じょうたい)だと、なかなか冗談(じょうだん)も言(い)えないよ。

セレ：でも、こういう時(とき)こそ、三田君のような脳天気(のうてんき)な人が必要(ひつよう)だよ。

三田：そうか。頑張(がんば)らなくちゃね。

Mita: How I wish someone would develop a medicine effective against the novel coronavirus.

Sere: I’ve heard that that takes quite a lot of time. More importantly, we should use existing medicines that are likely to work first. Other than that, a vaccine. I hope it will be developed soon.

Mita: Yeah. There really is a long way to go. Honestly, the world has totally changed. The Olympics have even been postponed.

Sere: Ah, how great would it be if society could just go back to how it was before. But, that’s not the case.

Mita: The economy has taken a big hit so I’m anxious because I don’t know the future.

Sere: Yeah. [Our] jobs are done through remote work, and I have to speak with you online too, Mita.

Mita: Yeah, it’s hard to make jokes in such a life-threatening situation.

Sere: But it’s in times like these that I need a person with a happy-go-lucky character like yours, Mita.

Mita: Is that so? We’ll just have to do our best.