Offering choices with "haishi"

Revision as of 09:55, 3 September 2013 by Yucui (talk | contribs)

还是 (háishì) is used in Chinese to provide options in a question. This is equivalent to one use of "or" in English.

Structure

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 ?

Examples

还是 questions
Subject Verb Option A 还是 Option B Translation
还是 咖啡 Do you want tea or coffee?
一 个 还是 两 个 Do you want one or two?
美国人 还是 英国人 Are you American or English?
医生 还是 老师 Is he a doctor or a teacher?
喜欢 啤酒 还是 葡萄酒 Do you like beer or wine?
喜欢 上海 还是 北京 Do you like Shanghai or Beijing?
喜欢 还是 我 的 钱 Do you like me or my money?
想吃 中国菜 还是 法国菜 Do you want to eat Chinese food or French food?
想去 香港 还是 泰国 Do you want to go to HongKong or Thailand?
还是 Is this water or wine?
会说 中文 还是 英文 Can you speak Chinese or English?
你家 小狗 还是 小猫 Do you have a puppy or a kitty in your house?

Please note that 还是 is for offering options in a question. It should not be used for "or" in statements (see below).

See also

Sources and Further Reading

Books

Websites