或者 vs 还是 ("or")

连词 / conjunctions

Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral

A 或者 B (statement) / A 还是 B？ (question)

English has one "or", Chinese has two:

还是 is used in a choice question: 你喝茶还是咖啡？(Tea or coffee?). No 吗 needed.

或者 is used in statements (or suggestions): 我们坐火车或者坐飞机都可以 (we can take the train or the plane, either is fine).

Tip: if you expect the listener to pick one, it's 还是.

Examples

我们坐火车去还是坐飞机去？
Wǒmen zuò huǒchē qù háishi zuò fēijī qù?
Are we going by train or by plane?
周六或者周日出发都可以。
Zhōuliù huòzhě zhōurì chūfā dōu kěyǐ.
Leaving on Saturday or Sunday are both fine.
你想去海边还是去山上？
Nǐ xiǎng qù hǎibiān háishi qù shān shang?
Do you want to go to the seaside or the mountains?
你可以给我打电话或者发微信。
Nǐ kěyǐ gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà huòzhě fā Wēixìn.
You can call me or send me a WeChat message.

Common mistakes

✗ 你喝茶或者咖啡？ → ✓ 你喝茶还是咖啡？

✗ 你喝茶还是咖啡吗？ → no 吗 with 还是.