Either… orHSK 5
Providing two options with double 或者
To give two options emphatically, you can repeat 或者 before each one, resulting in an 'either A or B' pattern. The alternatives are usually verb phrases, and the construction often implies a necessary choice between them.
Structure
或者 A ，或者 B
A and B are generally verb phrases.
Examples
- 只有一块蛋糕，或者你吃或者我吃。Zhǐ yǒu yí kuài dàn gāo, huò zhě nǐ chī huò zhě wǒ chī.There's only one piece of cake. Either you eat it, or I eat it.
- 你或者学汉语，或者学法律，别的就别学了。Nǐ huò zhě xué hàn yǔ, huò zhě xué fǎ lǜ, bié de jiù bié xué le.Either study Chinese or law. Don't study anything else.
- 咱们或者今天去或者明天去，一定要去。Zán men huò zhě jīn tiān qù huò zhě míng tiān qù, yí dìng yào qù.We can either go today or tomorrow, but we must go.
- 你或者买这个或者买那个，其他的都不好看。Nǐ huò zhě mǎi zhè ge huò zhě mǎi nà ge, qí tā de dōu bù hǎo kàn.Either buy this one or that one. The others don't look good.
- 他穿得很正式，或者是老板，或者是经理吧。Tā chuān dé hěn zhèng shì, huò zhě shì lǎo bǎn, huò zhě shì jīng lǐ ba.He is dressed very formally. He's gotta be the boss or a manager.