Notices by Kazinator (kazinator@mstdn.ca)

@codewiz

なんか is also used as an interjection which means "it seems to me", "say ...", "sort of", "come to think of it", "I have some impression to express". Usually before the remark. なんか、かすかな音が聞こえるよ。(Say, I can hear a faint sound.) なんか、この公園の雰囲気がすき。I sort of like the atmosphere of this park. This isn't negative. It's a "soft casual" thing, perhaps?

The word なんて also serves as "what a!" in exclamations, which can be very positive. なんてかわいいあかかはん (what a cute baby).

@codewiz

なんか and なんて can be synonyms of など (often written 等). They mean "sort of thing", "such as", and can be used in pejorative sentences; e.g. to express "the likes of you": おまえ(みたいなくず)なんか大嫌い。
I hate scum like you. The part I wrote in parentheses is often left to the imagination, so the なんか by itself means something bad: "the likes of you" is something negative.

But ...