Grammar Info

N1 Lesson 5: 1/18

か否(いな)かWhether or not

や否や is used to express "as soon as"

Structure

Verb + か否(いな)か
［い］Adjective + か否(いな)か
［な］Adjective + （である）+ か否(いな)か
Noun + （である）+ か否(いな)か

Details

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    Formal

About か否か

否(いな) 'no' is an interjection in Japanese that is primarily paired with the adverbial particle か 'or' when stating 'whether or not (A)'. The literal meaning is just '(A) or no'. This is a very formal expression that will mainly be seen in writing.

か否(いな)か may appear after almost any word in their standard forms.

This structure is often paired with words like べき 'ought to', を問(と)わず 'without questioning', にかかわらず 'regardless of', and will be used to make determinations about the suitability of something based on a specific situation.

Examples

--:--

    小説(しょうせつ)、語(かた)り手(て)：「スウォン王(おう)は武力(ぶりょく)で反乱(はんらん)を鎮圧(ちんあつ)すべきか否(いな)か、について迷(まよ)っていた。」

    A novel, narrator: 'King Su-won was hesitant about whether or not he should put the rebellion down by force.'

    記事(きじ)のタイトル：「プロゲーマーは真(しん)のスポーツ選手(せんしゅ)か否(いな)か。eスポーツ業界(ぎょうかい)が直面(ちょくめん)するビザの問題(もんだい)」

    Article title: 'Are pro gamers real athletes or not? The visa problem that eSports faces.' (whether or not)

    サイバーセキュリティ会社(かいしゃ)のサイト：「怪(あや)しいか否(いな)かの判断(はんだん)に迷(まよ)うメールを受(う)け取(と)った場合(ばあい)は、どうぞそれを開(ひら)かずにLain＠cyberland.xyzまでご連絡(れんらく)をお願(ねが)いします。」

    Cybersecurity company website: 'In the event that you receive an email in which you are unable to determine whether or not it is suspicious, do not open it and please contact us at Lain@cyberland.xyz.'

    サイト、クッキーファイルについて：「利用者(りようしゃ)はそのクッキーを受(う)け入(い)れるか否(いな)かを決(き)めることができますし、また、全部(ぜんぶ)のクッキーを削除(さくじょ)することもできます。」

    Website, about cookie files: 'Users can decide whether or not they accept cookies. Users are also able to delete all accepted cookies anytime.'

    イベントのサイト「参加資格(さんかしかく)：登録（とうろく）ユーザーであるか否(いな)かを問(と)わず、どなたでもご参加可能(さんかかのう)」

    Event website: 'Entry qualifications: Regardless of whether you are a registered user or not, anyone can participate.'

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