Whether (or not) — formal with 是否

Structure … 是否 + Verb/adjective

是否 (shìfǒu) is the formal, written version of 是不是: "whether (or not)". 我不知道他是否会来 = "I don’t know whether he’ll come". It goes before the verb and is very common in indirect questions and careful language. It takes no 吗.

Examples

请qǐng问wèn你nǐ是shì否fǒu同tóng意yì？
May I ask whether you agree?
我wǒ不bù知zhī道dào他tā是shì否fǒu会huì来lái。
I don’t know whether he’ll come.
我wǒ问wèn他tā是shì否fǒu需xū要yào帮bāng助zhù。
I asked him whether he needed help.

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