Offering choices with "haishi"
还是 (háishì) is used in Chinese to provide options in a question. This is equivalent to one use of "or" in English. The basic structure is:
Option A + 还是 + Option B
You can then put this into all kinds of questions with the following structure:
Subject + Verb + Option A + 还是 + Option B
Some examples:
Subject | Verb | Option A | 还是 | Option B | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
你 | 是 | 美国人 | 还是 | 英国人 | ? |
你 | 喜欢 | 啤酒 | 还是 | 葡萄酒 | ? |
他 | 是 | 医生 | 还是 | 护士 | ? |
你 | 想吃 | 中国菜 | 还是 | 法国菜 | ? |
那 | 是 | 很大的猫 | 还是 | 很小的老虎 | ? |
Please note that 还是 is for offering options in a question. It should not be used for all translations of the English word "or."
Sources and further reading
Websites
- East Asia Student: [The difference between 还是 and 或者]