Meaning & usage
か〜か presents two alternatives inside an embedded clause meaning whether A or B. It is used when the outcome is undecided, often before verbs like 決める, わかる, 迷う or nouns like 問題 and with question words plus かどうか for whether or not. Each か follows the plain form of a verb or adjective, a noun plus だ, or a question word, as in 行くか行かないか and できるかどうか. In speech the pattern often appears with わからない to mean not knowing which option holds.
Example sentences 5
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進むべきか退くべきか、はっきりとはわからなかった。
I was uncertain whether to advance or to retreat.
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私たちがそこへ行くかどうかを決めるのは君の責任だ。
It is up to you to decide whether we will go there or not.
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問題は彼女が信用できるかどうかということである。
The question is whether she can be trusted.
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問題は彼女が私の手紙を読んでくれるかどうかです。
The point is whether she will read my letter or not.
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留学先をオーストラリアにするかカナダにするか決められない。
For studying abroad, I can't decide whether I should go to Australia or Canada.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 11 past exam questions.
And 7 more tests.
