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:

还是 questions

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".

See also

• "Or" in statements
• "Had better" with "haishi" (advanced article)
• Providing two options with double "huozhe" (advanced article)

Sources and further reading

Websites

• East Asia Student: The difference between 还是 and 或者