Expressing “either…or” with 或者 huòzhě

Grammar Point:
或者 huòzhě and 或是 huòshì both mean “or” in Chinese, but they are used to express a preference or emphasis on one of the options. It can be translated as “either…or” in English.

Structure

Option 1 + 或者 or 或是 + Option 2

或者 huòzhě is generally considered more formal and literary than 或是 huòshì. It is often used in written or formal contexts, such as news reports, official documents, and academic papers. 或是 huòshì is more colloquial and informal, and is often used in everyday speech.

咖啡kāfēi或是huòshì茶chá， 我wǒ都dōu喝hē咖啡kāfēi或是huòshì茶chá， 我wǒ都dōu喝hē
Either coffee or tea, I drink.

我們wǒmen週末zhōumò去qù看kàn電影diànyǐng或是huòshì爬山páshān都dōu好hǎo我们wǒmen周末zhōumò去qù看kàn电影diànyǐng或是huòshì爬山páshān都dōu好hǎo
We can either watch a movie or go hiking on the weekend.

星期六xīngqíliù或者huòzhě星期天xīngqítiān一起yìqǐ吃飯chīfàn吧ba！ 星期六xīngqīliù或者huòzhě星期天xīngqītiān一起yìqǐ吃饭chīfàn吧ba！
Let’s have a meal together on Saturday or Sunday!

想xiǎng學xué好hǎo中文zhōngwén你nǐ應該yīnggāi去qù台灣Táiwān或者huòzhě中國Zhōngguó讀書dúshū想xiǎng学xué好hǎo中文zhōngwén你nǐ应该yīnggāi去qù台湾Táiwān或者huòzhě中国Zhōngguó读书dúshū
If you want to learn Chinese well, you should study in Taiwan or China.

如果rúguǒ你nǐ沒有méiyǒu牛奶niúnǎi， 燕麥奶yànmàinǎi或是huòshì豆漿dòujiāng也yěOK 如果rúguǒ你nǐ没有méiyǒu牛奶niúnǎi， 燕麦奶yànmàinǎi或是huòshì豆浆dòujiāng也yěOK
If you do not have milk, either oat milk or soy milk can be ok.

FYI
The word ‘ok’ has become a part of the Chinese culture in Taiwan. We use ‘ok’ as a two-syllable Chinese word, for example, when we ask ‘Are you ok?’ we say ‘你ok嗎吗？’ or ‘你o不ok？’.

我wǒ平常píngcháng在zài家jiā就是jiùshì看看kànkàn韓劇hánjù或是huòshì日劇rìjù我wǒ平常píngcháng在zài家jiā就是jiùshì看看kànkàn韩剧hánjù或是huòshì日剧rìjù
Usually, I watch Korean dramas or Japanese dramas at home.

我wǒ去qù你家nǐjiā或者huòzhě我們wǒmen約yuē一家yìjiā咖啡店kāfēidiàn， 看kàn你nǐ怎樣zěnyàng方便fāngbiàn我wǒ去qù你家nǐjiā或者huòzhě我们wǒmen约yuē一家yìjiā咖啡店kāfēidiàn， 看kàn你nǐ怎样zěnyáng方便fāngbiàn
I can go to your place or we can meet at a coffee shop, whichever is more convenient for you.

你nǐ加jiā點diǎn巧克力qiǎokēlì或是huòshì焦糖jiāotáng會huì更gèng好吃hǎochī你nǐ加jiā点儿diǎnr巧克力qiǎokèlì或是huòshì焦糖jiāotáng会huì更gèng好吃hǎochī
Adding some chocolate or caramel will make it taste even better.

If you want to use ‘or’ in questions, you need to use 還是还是 háishì. (HSK 1)