かどうかWhether or not, If...or not

Structure

Verb + か + どう + か + Phrase
［い］Adjective + か + どう + か + Phrase
［な］Adjective + か + どう + か + Phrase
Noun + か + どう + か + Phrase

Details

About かどうか

かどうか is an expression in Japanese which combines the 'or' meaning of か, with the 'how' meaning of どう. (A) かどうか (B) is regularly translated as 'whether or not (A), (B)'.

To use かどうか, simply attach it to the end of any phrase that you want to express the 'or' use of か about, then add the (B) phrase.

Although 'whether or not' is the standard translation, the more literal translation of かどうか is 'if it's (A), or however it is, (B)'.

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

旅行(りょこう)に行(い)けるかどうかわからない。

I don't know whether or not I can go on a trip.

サンタさんがいるかどうか探(さが)しています。

People are searching for whether or not Santa exists.

まだ日本(にほん)に行(い)けるかどうか、分(わ)からない。

I don't know whether or not I still can go to Japan.

スピーチがうまくできるかどうか心配(しんぱい)している。

I am worried whether or not my speech will go well.

今(いま)の動物(どうぶつ)は犬(いぬ)かどうか分(わ)からないけど、怖(こわ)かった。

I don't know whether or not the animal I just saw was a dog, but it was frightening.

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かどうか – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

Pushindawood
@DonChanHype Done! Thanks for drawing this to our attention. Cheers!
Isurandil492
Considering this example sentence:

まだ日本に行けるかどうか分からない。

What tells me that the まだ connects with 分からない and not 行ける?

How would I express “I don’t know whether I can still go to Japan.”?
mrnoone
Hey @Isurandil492 !

To be honest, without context

まだ日本に行けるかどうか分からない。

can be understood as both
“I don’t know whether I can still go to Japan.” and " I still don’t know whether or not I can go to Japan."

If one wants to be clear then we can move まだ and add some pauses:

私は日本に行けるかどうか、まだ分かりません。
" I still don’t know whether or not I can go to Japan."

まだ日本に行けるかどうか、私は分かりません。
I don’t know whether I can still go to Japan.

I hope it helps,
Cheers!