How to say “or” in Chinese
or; still; had better
“Or” in Chinese is 还是, hái shi: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
还是 is read hái shi: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 辶 “walk”.
On top, 日 “sun”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “还是”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 还是. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你要红色的还是黑色的nǐyàohóngsèdeháishihēisèdeDo you want the red one or the black one?
- 你喝咖啡还是喝茶？nǐhēkāfēiháishihēcháWill you have coffee or tea?
- 我们还是去饭馆吃吧。wǒmenháishiqùfànguǎnchībaWe’d better go eat at a restaurant.
- 你要白色的还是红色的？nǐyàobáisèdeháishihóngsèdeDo you want the white one or the red one?
- 我们还是喝茶吧wǒmenháishihēchábaLet’s have tea instead, then.
- 你要黑色的还是白色的？nǐyàohēisèdeháishibáisèdeDo you want the black one or the white one?
More words from the lesson “What color?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “or” in Chinese?
“Or” in Chinese is 还是, pinyin háishi.
What does 还是 mean?
还是 (háishi) means “or; still; had better”.
How do you write 还是?
还是 is 2 characters: 还 (hái) — still, also; 是 (shì) — be. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 还是?
还是 is read háishi. Tones: hái — second tone, shi — neutral tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“or” in the lesson “What color?”
This word is from the topic “Things, colors, food” of HSK 2. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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