"Do you have any kind of bowl?"

Translation: Ĉu vi havas ian bovlon?

[meerness1]

Shouldn't "ia ajn" also be suitable here instead of "ian"?

[mizinamo]

"ian ajn" -- the "ajn" doesn't remove the need for an accusative ending. (And it doesn't itself have an accusative ending.)

[meerness1]

Okay, I accept what you said about the accusative, but wouldn't "ian" mean "some kind" and "ian ajn" mean "any kind"?

[danielqsc]

Well, if you say a similar sentence in affirmative, would it be "He has some kind of bowl" or "He has any kind of bowl"? I'm not a native English speaker, but the second sentence seems odd to me. Anyway, I know ia means "some" and can really mean "any" in interrogative sentences, but you need ajn when it means "...at all".

[tommylinsley]

I'm no expert, but I would say that, yes, "ian ajn" should be an acceptable answer. I found some examples:

• According to Lernu.net:
  any kind of = ia ajn

• According to ESPDIC:
  ia ajn = any kind of;
  ajn = any kind of/whatsoever/arbitrary;
  sen ajna = without the least/without any kind of

[StephenH0]

"Ajn" mean "ever" or "at all". Like "kiu ajn" - "whoever", "ia ajn" - "any kind at all".