日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2

～か～まいか

~ka ~mai ka

whether to do or not

When to use it

Use ～か～まいか in formal writing or stiff speech to frame a genuine two-way deliberation — "whether or not to do X." It is the literary equivalent of ～かどうか / ～か～ないか, and pairs almost exclusively with verbs of deciding, hesitating or weighing (迷う, 決めかねる, 検討する, 判断する). Common in reports, minutes and internal memos; in casual speech ～かどうか is preferred.

Formation

  • Godan verbs: dictionary form + か + stem-less まい form → 行くか行くまいか、出すか出すまいか
  • Ichidan verbs: dictionary form + か + 〜まい (either 受けまい or 受けるまい; the shorter form is more literary) → 受けるか受けまいか
  • する: するかすまいか / しまいか; 来る: 来るか来まいか
  • The verb is normally repeated in full; the second half may be shortened to 〜まいか alone when the verb is long (出資するか、しまいか)
  • Not used with adjectives or nouns — for these use 〜かどうか (必要かどうか, ×必要かあるまいか)
  • Typically followed by 迷う・悩む・決めかねる・検討する・判断する, or by 〜は別として

Examples

  • We can't decide whether or not to accept their proposal.

  • Whether or not to invest further will be decided at next week's board meeting.

  • Opinion inside the company split over whether to announce the price hike.

  • We are carefully considering whether or not to continue this project.

  • Whether or not we renew the contract will depend on performance.