Expressing "or" in statements

In English, "or" can be used in the sense of having a choice (Chicken or beef?), and as an "either or" statement (it doesn't matter if you're black or white). In Chinese, 或者(huòzhě) is used for the latter.

Structure

Whilst 还是 is used for "or" in questions, 或者 is used for "or" in statements.

Possibility 1 + 或者 + Possibility 2

Examples

• 我 想 去 青岛 或者 南京。I would like to go to Qingdao or Beijing.
• 你 去 或者 我 去，都 可以。You go or I go, either way is fine.
• 晚上 的 时候，我 一般 喜欢 喝 啤酒 或者 葡萄酒。Usually I prefer some beer or red wine in the evening.
• 周末的时候，我喜欢做做饭或者看看电影。I'd like to do some cooking or see a few movies on weekend.
• 今天晚上我想吃比萨或者汉堡。I‘d like to have some pizza or hamburgers tonight.
• 下个月我打算去杭州或者苏州旅行。I'm going on a trip to hangzhou or suzhou next month.
• 圣诞节我们回美国或者留在中国。We are going back to the U.S.A. or stay here in China this Christmas.
• 晚饭以后我喜欢和家人聊聊天或者喝喝茶。I'd like to have some talk or nice tea with my family after dinner.
• 他不喜欢抽烟或者喝酒。 He doesn't like smoking or drinking.
• 你可以用手机或者电脑来查生词。You can use either cellphone or computer to look up those new words.

See also

• Offering choices with haishi
• Providing two options with double "huozhe" (advanced article)

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 74-5) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 257-8) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 239-40) →buy

Websites

• East Asia Student: The difference between 还是 and 或者