בין אם הגוון לבן ובין אם אפור, נבדוק בשמש.

It means whether ... or ....

So:

• בין אם הגוון לבן ובין אם אפור = whether the shade is white or gray

This is a fixed Hebrew pattern used to present two alternatives, similar to English whether X or Y.

Because this is a correlative structure: בין אם ... ובין אם ...

Literally, it is something like:

• whether if ... and whether if ...

But in natural English, you usually translate it simply as:

• whether ... or ...

So even though English uses or, Hebrew normally repeats בין אם in the second part.

הגוון means the shade, the tone, or the hue.

It comes from:

• גוון = shade / hue / tone
• הגוון = the shade

The ה־ at the beginning is the definite article, like the in English.

Because Hebrew often uses a nominal sentence in the present tense, with no word for is.

So:

• הגוון לבן = the shade is white
• literally: the shade white

This is completely normal Hebrew. In the present tense, the verb to be is usually omitted.

Because לבן agrees with גוון, which is a masculine singular noun.

Hebrew adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number.

• גוון = masculine singular
• so the adjective is לבן = white (masculine singular)

If the noun were feminine singular, you would expect לבנה.

For the same reason: it is describing גוון, which is masculine singular.

So:

• גוון לבן
• גוון אפור

Both adjectives are in the masculine singular form to match גוון.

נבדוק is the 1st person plural future form of the verb לבדוק (to check / examine).

So it means:

• we will check
• sometimes, depending on context, let’s check

In this sentence, the most straightforward reading is we will check.

Because the sentence is talking about an action that will happen after considering the alternatives.

Structure:

• whether the shade is white or gray
• we will check in the sun

So the future נבדוק fits naturally: it expresses what we’ll do.

בשמש literally means in the sun or in sunlight.

It is made of:

• ב־ = in / at / under
• הַשמש = the sun

When ב־ attaches to a word with ה־, the form contracts:

• ב + השמש → בשמש

So בשמש is a very normal fused form.

It can suggest either, depending on context.

Most naturally, it means checking something in sunlight / under the sun, probably because the light makes the color easier to judge.

So in English, possible translations include:

• in the sun
• in sunlight
• under natural light

Because the first part is an introductory clause:

• בין אם הגוון לבן ובין אם אפור = whether the shade is white or gray

Then the main clause follows:

• נבדוק בשמש = we’ll check in the sun

The comma helps separate the introductory whether...or... clause from the main statement.

Yes, Hebrew often leaves the object understood from context.

In this sentence, the implied object is probably something like:

• it
• the color
• the shade

So נבדוק בשמש can naturally mean:

• we’ll check it in the sun
• we’ll examine it in sunlight

Hebrew does not always need to repeat the object if it is already clear.

Yes. Hebrew avoids unnecessary repetition when the meaning is clear.

So:

• בין אם הגוון לבן ובין אם אפור

really means:

• whether the shade is white or whether it is gray

The noun הגוון is understood in the second part and does not need to be repeated.

It sounds mostly neutral to slightly formal.

The structure בין אם ... ובין אם ... is standard and correct, and it often feels a bit more polished than very casual speech.

In everyday conversation, some speakers might use simpler wording, but this sentence is perfectly natural Hebrew.