Nǐ hǎo!

We all have learned “和” which means “and”. Then how do you translate “or” in Chinese? 还是？或者？Both 还是 (háishì) and 或者 (huòzhě) mean “or” and are used to present a choice. The usage of these two Chinese grammar conjunctions often leads to confusion for beginning Chinese learners.

The Difference Between “还是 háishì” and “或者 huòzhě”

还是(Háishì) VS 或者 (Huòzhě)
Both 还是 (háishì) and 或者 (huòzhě) mean “or” and are used to
present a choice. However, 还 是 can only be used when asking a
question and 或者 can only be used in a declarative sentence.
1. 还是 is used to offer choices in a question
Subject + Verb + Option A + 还是 + Option B ？
e.g.
⚫ 你喝茶还是喝咖啡?( Nǐ hē chá háishì hē kāfēi?)
Would you like tea or coffee?)
⚫ 你想去北京还是去上海？(Xiǎng qù běijīng háishì shànghǎi?)
Do you want to go to Beijing or Shanghai?
还是 is used for questions that are embedded in sentences
Deciding whether or not to use 还是 becomes difficult with sentences
that contain statements like “I don’t know,” “I want to know,”
“I’m not sure,” etc. Alone, these statements are not technically
questions. However, when used in a sentence that contains choices,
these statements imply that a question must be answered. Therefore, you
must use 还是.
e.g.
⚫ 他们还没决定要去北京还是上海。（Tāmen hái méi juédìng yào qù běijīng háishì
shànghǎi.）
They have not decided yet whether they will go to Beijing or Shanghai.
www.digmandarin.com
⚫ 我不知道是接受还是不接受。（Wǒ bù zhīdào shì jiēshòu háishì bù jiēshòu.）
I don’t know whether to accept or not.
还是 is used to give suggestions
还是 can also be used to express the English words “ought to” or “had
better”. The use of 还 是 implies that the there were originally two
options and the speaker has decided on one. In this grammar structure,
还是 often comes before the verb and sometimes before the subject. 吧
is often placed at the end of the statement to emphasize that it is a
suggestion.
e.g.
⚫ 我听说这部电影不好看，我们还是看其他的吧。（Wǒ tīng shuō zhè bù diànyǐng bù
hǎokàn, wǒmen háishì kàn qítā de ba.）
I heard this movie wasn’t good. We should watch another one.
2. 或者 is used to give options in declarative sentences
Option 1 + 或者 + Option 2
e.g.
⚫ 明天或者后天，我要和我的朋友见面。（Míngtiān huòzhě hòutiān, wǒ yào hé wǒ de
péngyǒu jiànmiàn.）
I will meet my friends Either tomorrow or the day after.）
www.digmandarin.com
Let`s review with the following exercises!
Please fill in the blanks with 还是 or 或者.
1. Today’s homework is very hard. We had better ask the teacher.
今天的作业特别难，我们_____问老师吧。
(Jīntiān de zuòyè tèbié nán, wǒmen ______ wèn lǎoshī ba.)
2. Do you want to take exam today or tomorrow?
你们想今天考试_____明天考试？
(Nǐmen xiǎng jīntiān kǎoshì_____míngtiān kǎoshì?)
3.Is your Chinese better or English better?
你的中文好_____英文好？
(Nǐ de zhōngwén hǎo_____yīngwén hǎo?)
4.Next month I will have a business travel in Beijing or Shanghai.
下个月我要出差，去北京_____上海。
(Xià gè yuè wǒ yào chūchāi, qù Běijīng_____Shànghǎi.)
5.Get married or break up, you choose!
结婚_____分手，你选吧！
(Jiéhūn_____fēnshǒu, nǐ xuǎn ba!)
6.I don’t know if we are going to have a meeting or a break tomorrow.
我不知道我们明天是开会______放假。
(Wǒ bù zhīdào wǒmen míngtiān shì kāihuì______fàngjià.)
www.digmandarin.com
Key:
1. 今天的作业特别难，我们还是问老师吧。
2. 你们想今天考试还是明天考试？
3. 你的中文好还是英文好？
4. 下个月我要出差，去北京或者上海。
5. 结婚或者分手，你选吧！
6. 我不知道我们明天是开会还是放假。