Comparing "haishi" and "huozhe"

Revision as of 09:59, 5 December 2012 by Oversjw0 (talk | contribs) (→‎Examples)

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.

还是 is used to offer choices in a question

When asking a question, 还是 can be used to provide choices or options.

Structure

option1 + 还是 + option2 + ?

This grammar pattern is fairly flexible. You can create all kinds of questions with 还是 using the following structure.

Subject + Verb + Option A + 还是 + Option B

Examples

  • 你 最 喜欢的 菜 是 中国菜 还是 日本菜?
  • 昨天 晚上 你 看 电影了 还是 做 作业了?
  • 你 喝 茶 还是 喝 咖啡 ?
  • 你 喜欢 在 家 还是 出去 玩?
  • 你 吃 肉 或者 吃素。
  • 你 学 普通话 或者 广东话。

还是 is used for questions that are imbedded 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

Examples

  • 我 不 知道 这本书 是 他的 还是 我的。
  • 我 要 知道 他 去 食堂 还是 去饭馆 吃饭。
  • 我 不 知道 我 现在 就 吃饭 还是 等 他们 一起 吃饭。
  • 老板 现在 还 不 确定 是 这 个 周 出差 或者 下 个 周。
  • 我 不 知道 他 要不要 看电影 或者 听 音乐。

还是 is used to give suggestions

Structure

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 emphasis that it is a suggestion.

Examples

  • 今天 晚上 我 太慢了,不可以 去 酒吧。我 还是 做 作业
  • 我 听说 这部电影 不好看,我们 还是 看 其他的
  • 今天 的 作业 特别 难,我们 还是 问 老师
  • 我 困死了,或者 回家 睡觉
  • 我 非常 无聊,我们 或者 出去玩

或者 is used to give options in declarative sentences

或者 is used in declarative sentences in which options are presented.

Structure

option1 + 或者 + option2

The structure for 或者 and 还是 is the same, but the meaning, as well as the context in which 或者 is needed, is different.

Examples

  • 明天 或者 后天,我 要 和 我 的 朋友 见面。
  • 今天 中午 我 吃 三明治 或者 汉堡。
  • 今天 晚上 我 要 看 书 还是 听 音乐。

或者 can be repeated when providing options

Another easy way to use 或者 to give two options is to place 或者 before both options.

Structure

或者 A,或者 B

Almost anything can be placed after either 或者.

Examples

  • 只 有 一 块 蛋糕,或者 你 吃 或者 我 吃。
  • 或者 学 汉语 , 或者 学 法律,别的就别学了。
  • 咱们 还是 去 爬山 还是 泡温泉。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books