A 或者 B (or — in statements)
"Tea or coffee" — but not a question
- For "A or B" in a statement, use or或者.
- to drink tea喝茶or或者coffee (loanword)咖啡都行 = "tea or coffee, either is fine."
- Save or / still还是 for questions; or或者 is for statements.
A or或者 B
- or或者 joins two options inside a statement.
I我drink喝tea茶or或者coffee咖啡。
- to drink tea喝茶or或者coffee (loanword)咖啡 = "drink tea or coffee."
Practice
Drink tea or coffee: 喝茶 ____ 咖啡。
A 或者 B = A or B in a statement: 喝茶或者咖啡.
Practice
Build: “Drink tea or coffee.”
A 或者 B: 喝茶 + 或者 + 咖啡.
Not for questions
- A question uses or / still还是: you你to drink tea喝茶or / still还是coffee (loanword)咖啡? (not or或者).
Explore
Correct or broken?
或者 offers options inside STATEMENTS — questions hand over to 还是.
Practice
或者 is used in…
或者 = “or” in a statement; questions use 还是.
Practice
你喝茶或者咖啡? is the natural way to ask the choice.
A choice question uses 还是: 你喝茶还是咖啡?
Recap
Key idea
- A or或者 B — "A or B" in a statement: tea茶or或者coffee (loanword)咖啡
- Use or / still还是 for questions, or或者 for statements
- to drink tea喝茶or或者coffee (loanword)咖啡都行
Read the full reference: HSK 3 grammar — Conjunctions.