我不知道他活着还是死了。

I don't know whether he is dead or alive.

Source: Tatoeba

Sentence Composition

1 我不知道 wǒbùzhīdào I don't know.
2 他 tā
  1. (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his
  2. (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日 tārì and 他人 tārén)
3 活着 huózhe alive
=4 还是 háishi
  1. still (as before)
  2. had better
  3. unexpectedly
  4. or
=4 还是 háishì
  1. had better; it would be best (to do something); one would be well-advised to
  2. nevertheless; yet
  3. or
  4. still
5 死了 silě
  1. (colloquial) extremely; very
  2. (intransitive) to have died; to be dead
  3. (transitive) to have lost (one's relatives)
  4. extremely; very
  5. to have died; to be dead
  6. to have lost (one's relatives)