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或者 (huò zhě) — or (used to connect alternative options)

Definition

或者 is the standard 'or' for listing alternatives (tea or coffee, Beijing or Shanghai). For possibility ('maybe'), use 可能 or 也许 instead.

conjunction
or (used to connect alternative options)

Examples

  • 或者。
    Wǒ hē chá huò zhě kā fēi dōu kě yǐ.
    I can have either tea or coffee.
  • 或者。
    Míng tiān wǒ qù běi jīng huò zhě shàng hǎi.
    Tomorrow I'm going to Beijing or Shanghai.
  • 或者，。
    Zhè běn shū huò zhě nà běn shū, nǐ ná yì běn.
    Take either this book or that book.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

或huòor/maybe
者zhě

或 supplies the sense of choice or possibility, and 者 completes 或者 without adding a separate idea, so it offers alternatives: 'or'.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gē
Sound part声符shēngfú
員
員yuán或huò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

或 combines 戈, a weapon shape, with 員, which supplies the sound.

Open 或 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 31000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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