Chinese Language Learning Program Lesson 162 – “或者 and 还是” in Chinese

Chinese Language Learning Program

Lesson 162 – “或者  and 还是” in Chinese

Hello, everyone. Welcome back. This is Baixue’s Chinese Language Learning Program. Last time we talked about about “不会，不能” in Chinese. Today, we will talk about “或者 and 还是” in Chinese.

These two words are all conjunctions. And they all have the meaning of Or. But they still have some difference when we use them to make some Chinese sentences. Let’s see what is the difference between “或者and 还是”.

huò zhě

  或   者 (or; either; alternatively; possibly; or; maybe)

First, let’s see 或者. 或者 is used to make a choice when there are two or more than two options. For example:

1.   wǒ dǎ suàn míng tiān huò zhě hòu tiān qù shàng hǎi.

 我  打    算     明     天     或   者    后    天   去     上      海。

(I am planning to go to Shanghai tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.)

2.   nǐ kě yǐ yòng qiān bǐ huò zhě yuán zhū bǐ qiān zì dōu 

你 可以    用     铅   笔   或   者     圆    珠  笔   签   字   都    

xíng.

 行。

(You can sign your name with a pencil or ballpoint pen.)

3.   zhè běn shū huò zhě nǐ xiān kàn, huò zhě wǒ xiān kàn.

  这   本    书   或     者 你   先    看， 或    者    我   先    看。

(You read this book first or I read this book first.)

4.   nǐ kě yǐ qù yóu yǒng huò zhě dǎ wǎng qiú.

你 可 以 去   游     泳     或   者   打    网     球。

(You can go to swim or play tennis.)

Sometimes, 或者 means “some of ……”, for example:

5.   gōng yuán li yǒu hěn duō rén, zhè xiē rén huò zhě kàn

            公      园  里  有    很     多   人，这    些  人    或    者   看     

         shū, huò zhě xián liáo, huò zhě kàn fēng jǐng, huò zhě

     书，或    者     闲   聊， 或     者   看    风    景，  或    者  

         hé hái zi yī qǐ wán shuǎ.

          和 孩  子一 起  玩     耍。

          (There are a lot of people in the park. These people or 

        read a  book, or chat, or enjoy scenery or play with kids.)     

或者 can be used as Adverb, it means “perhaps; maybe”, for example:

6.   nǐ xiàn zài zǒu, huò zhě hái néng gǎn shàng huǒ chē.

你   现   在   走，或     者   还     能    赶       上     火    车。

(If you go now, maybe you still can catch the train.)

hái shi

 还  是 (or; still; all the same; was)

还是is used to make a choice in question sentences. For example:

1.   nǐ zǎo shang qù, hái shì xià wǔ qù?

你  早      上     去,  还   是  下  午  去？

(Are you going there in the morning or in the afternoon?)

2.   nǐ xiǎng yào hóng sè hái shì lán sè?

    你    想    要      红    色  还  是  蓝  色？

(Do you want the red one or the blue one?)

还是can be used as adverb. It means “still; nevertheless; all the same; had better”.

3.   hǎo ba, bù guǎn zěn yàng, hái shì yào gǎn xiè nǐ suǒ

  好  吧,  不    管    怎     样，  还  是   要    感    谢 你   所

zuò de yī qiè.

  做  的 一  切。

(All right, anyway, I still want to thank you for everything you did.)

4.   suī rán péng yǒu men míng què fǎn duì, tā hái shì

 虽  然     朋     友     们     明      确  反    对, 他  还   是

jiān chí jǐ jiàn.

 坚    持己  见.

(He still insists his own idea even his friends hold opposite opinions obviously.)

5.   tài wǎn le, wǒ men hái shì huí jiā ba.

太    晚 了,  我    们   还   是   回  家 吧。

(It is too late, we’d better go home. )

6.   bié nào le, wǒ men hái shì bǎ gōng zuò gǎn jǐn

 别    闹了,  我     们   还   是  把   工      作   赶  紧

zuò wán ba.

           做    完  吧。

         (Pack it in, we’d better finish our job.)

From the above example sentences, we can see the difference between或者and 还是. Hope you can use them to make Chinese sentences correctly. Please let me know if you have any question about或者and 还是.

Ok, that is all for today.

xiè  xiè!

 谢   谢 ! (Thanks!)

xià  cì  jiàn

 下  次  见!  (See you next time!)