どこに住んでいるか・
This pattern places a question such as who, where, when, or what inside a larger sentence. The embedded question becomes the information that someone knows, remembers, asks, decides, or investigates.
How it works
The clause ending in か contains an unresolved piece of information. The larger sentence then says what someone knows, remembers, asks, decides, or investigates about that information. This embedded か does not by itself ask the listener a question; the main clause determines whether the whole sentence is a statement or a question.
Questions inside statements
Notice that each highlighted part corresponds to an English phrase such as “where he lives” or “what I ordered,” not to a separate direct question.
Open information or yes-no uncertainty?
Use a question word followed by か when the missing information is who, what, where, when, or similar. Use かどうか when the uncertainty is simply whether something is true.
More examples
先生はだれがこの絵を描いたか知っています。
The teacher knows who painted this picture.
Analyze旅行の前に、現地で何を食べるか決めておきます。
Before the trip, we will decide what to eat there.
Analyze私は鍵をどこに置いたか思い出せません。
I cannot remember where I put the key.
Analyze私は店が何時に閉まるか電話で聞きました。
I asked by phone what time the store closes.
Analyzeチームはどの案を選ぶかまだ決めていません。
The team has not yet decided which proposal to choose.
Analyze研究者たちは鳥が冬にどこへ移動するか調べています。
The researchers are investigating where the birds migrate in winter.
Analyze