How to use 或者
⋯⋯或者⋯⋯
或者 connects alternatives that remain possible within a statement. It can link nouns, activities, or longer phrases, provided the alternatives play comparable roles in the sentence. The speaker presents available options rather than necessarily asking the listener to select one immediately. Surrounding words can indicate that either option is acceptable.
Choice questions commonly use 还是 instead, because they ask which alternative is the actual answer. That distinction is a helpful starting point, though questions with other structures can still contain 或者 inside them. Focus on what the sentence is doing: presenting possibilities and requesting a choice are different tasks. Do not replace every English “or” with the same Chinese conjunction automatically.
Examples with pinyin and English
我喝咖啡或者茶，都行。
I drink coffee or tea. Either is OK.
星期六或者星期天， 都可以。
Saturday or Sunday are both OK.
今天晚上我想吃披萨或者寿司。
Tonight I would like to eat pizza or sushi.
周末的时候，我喜欢在家做饭或者看电影。
During the weekend, I like to cook or watch movies at home.
What to remember
- Use 或者 to present possible alternatives.
- Link phrases serving comparable sentence roles.
- Direct choice questions commonly use 还是.
Practise the pattern
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.