Writing
还是 (háishi) — how to say "or" in Chinese
还是
Or; still
modal adverb · conjunction joining clauses
How to use it
modal adverb
Goes before the verb and shows the speaker's attitude.
我们还是走吧。
wǒ men hái shi zǒu ba
Let's just go.
conjunction joining clauses
Joins the parts of a complex sentence, often paired with another conjunction.
你喝茶还是喝咖啡？
nǐ hē chá hái shi hē kā fēi
Do you drink tea or coffee?
Character composition
还
still
是
to be
Radicals / Keys
日
Sun
#72 · rì · 4 strokes
辵
Walk
#162 · chuò · 7 strokes
Synonyms
Collocations
喝茶还是喝水
hē chá hái shi hē shuǐ
Have tea or water?
Examples
天气太冷了，你还是在家休息，别出去跑步了。
It's too cold outside, you'd better rest at home, don't go running.
你还是早点睡吧。
You'd better go to sleep early.
Mnemonic
[háishì-] Harry Potter is at a magical feast, pondering between two dishes. "还是 do you want pumpkin juice 🥤 or butterbeer 🍺?" asks Hermione. Harry sees the character 还 in a spell book and realizes he must choose. He still can't decide, so he magically orders both!
Frequently asked questions
How to say or in Chinese Mandarin?
"or" in Chinese is 还是 (háishi).
还是 meaning in English
还是 (háishi) means "Or; still".
Or in Chinese pinyin
It is pronounced háishi (written as haishi). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "or" in Chinese characters?
It is written 还是: 还 has 7 strokes, 是 has 9 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 还是?
还是 belongs to the HSK 3 vocabulary list.
Tomyo
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Grammar with 还是
还是 — alternative question
A + 还是 (háishi) + B?
还是 — had better
Subj. + 还是 (háishi) + Verb Phrase (+ 吧 (ba))
毕竟 — after all
毕竟 (bìjìng) + Clause
来 vs 去 — verbing around
Verb 1 + 来 (lái) + Verb 1 + 去 (qù)
再三 — over and over again
再三 (zàisān) + Verb Phrase
还是 — or in embedded questions
不知道 (bù zhīdào) / 想知道 (xiǎng zhīdào) + A + 还是 (háishi) + B