〜かどうか

〜かどうか expresses whether or not — a pattern for reporting thoughts, speech, and mental activities. Japanese quotation patterns allow you to embed one person's perspective within your own statement, which is essential for natural storytelling and reported speech.

This is an intermediate pattern used regularly in everyday Japanese conversation and writing.

When to Use#

• When expressing uncertainty about whether something is true
• When embedding a yes/no question inside a larger sentence

When NOT to Use#

• In very formal writing where a more sophisticated expression would be expected

Example Sentences#

• 彼が明日来るかどうか分かりません。 — I don't know whether he will come tomorrow or not.
• その噂が本当かどうか分かりません。 — I don't know whether the rumor is true or not.
• その話が本当かどうか分かりません。 — I don't know whether that story is true or not.

Practice#

Try reading these sentences aloud, then check the translation and vocabulary:

Common Mistakes#

1. Direct translation from English — The concept expressed by 〜かどうか may not map one-to-one with its English translation. Focus on understanding the Japanese usage through example sentences rather than relying on the English gloss.

Related Patterns#

• 〜と思う (I think ~) — Next step