<blockquote>
  <p>"____或____" = "____or____"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Example : </p>

<p>我沒有姐姐<strong>或</strong>(者)哥哥 (I don't have sister <strong>or</strong> brother)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"是____或是____" = "is ____or____"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Example : </p>

<p>來的<strong>是</strong>姐姐<strong>或是</strong>哥哥都不要緊 (It doesn't matter the one who comes <strong>is</strong> sister <strong>or</strong> brother)</p>

<p>~</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"或____或____" = "either____ or____"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Example:</p>

<p>全部隊員<strong>或</strong>(者)死<strong>或</strong>(者)傷，我们已經沒法再戦 (All team members <strong>either</strong> died <strong>or</strong> injured, we can fight no longer) </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"或是____或是____" = "is either____ or____"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Example:
來的<strong>或是</strong>姐姐, <strong>或是</strong>哥哥, 總之不會是父母 (The one who comes <strong>is either</strong> sister <strong>or</strong> brother, in short, will not be parents)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>I was about to write 我沒有或姐姐或哥哥。</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>As user6065 stated:</p>

<p>我<strong>既沒有</strong>姐姐<strong>也没有</strong>哥哥 (I have <strong>neither</strong> sister <strong>nor</strong> brother)</p>

<p>我<strong>既有</strong>姐姐<strong>也有</strong>哥哥 (I have sister <strong>and also</strong> brother)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-23T15:21:45.373Z
2018-01-23T15:27:37.200Z
2018-01-23T15:27:37.200Z
Tang Ho
<p>Chinese seldom use 或.  There is usually other ways to express the idea.</p>

<p>I do not have any sisters <strong>or</strong> brothers.
我<strong>既</strong>没有姐妹<strong>也</strong>没有兄弟。</p>

<p>You’d better hurry, <strong>or</strong> you will be late.
快点，<strong>要不然</strong>就迟到了。</p>

<p>They <strong>either</strong> died <strong>or</strong> escaped.
他们<strong>不是</strong>死了<strong>就是</strong>逃了。
Note that the Chinese sentence literally means “if they did not die, then they escaped.”  If you have some mathematics or logic background, you may have noticed that in English, the primitive logical operators are “and”, “or”, and “not”.  But in Chinese, the primitive logical operators are “and”, “implies” and “not”.  “If not A, then B” is logically equivalent to “A or B”.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-23T16:38:41.233Z
2018-01-23T16:38:41.233Z
wks
<p>You may compare 或 in Chinese with "⋁" in logic or "or" in the languages in Europe. In Chinese it does not express choice, but rather express something or someone else is the same,or express enumeration. To express choice is a simulation to the languages in Europe. It is not natural in speech of the illiterate</p>

<p>One historic reason for such a usage is that in ancient Chinese, 或 mean there are someone, or someone.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-24T02:40:07.953Z
2018-01-24T05:27:38.903Z
2018-01-24T05:27:38.903Z
XL _At_Here_There
<p>In English (and Spanish), "or" ("o") can be between things.  In Spanish, if negating, both items are preceded by "ni".</p>

<p>I'm looking at sample sentences in Chinese, and sometimes I see</p>

<p>或____或____</p>

<p>but in others, the first 或 is not there.</p>

<p>Is this arbitrary, or is there a simple or complex rule to know which to use?</p>

<p>I was about to write 我沒有或姐姐或哥哥。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-23T15:14:38.567Z
我既沒有姐姐也没有哥哥 see dictionaries, e.g. ichacha: neither…nor    (既)不…也不，(既)非…也非; 既不…也不…... & much more, iciba
user6065
<usage>
"or" usage for choices
# "or" usage for choices

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-01-23)

In English (and Spanish), "or" ("o") can be between things. In Spanish, if negating, both items are preceded by "ni".

I'm looking at sample sentences in Chinese, and sometimes I see

或\_\_\_\_或\_\_\_\_

but in others, the first 或 is not there.

Is this arbitrary, or is there a simple or complex rule to know which to use?

I was about to write 我沒有或姐姐或哥哥。

**Tags:** usage

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 我既沒有姐姐也没有哥哥 see dictionaries, e.g. ichacha: neither…nor    (既)不…也不，(既)非…也非; 既不…也不…... & much more, iciba  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-01-23. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

> "\_\_\_\_或\_\_\_\_" = "\_\_\_\_or\_\_\_\_"

Example :

我沒有姐姐**或**(者)哥哥 (I don't have sister **or** brother)

> "是\_\_\_\_或是\_\_\_\_" = "is \_\_\_\_or\_\_\_\_"

Example :

來的**是**姐姐**或是**哥哥都不要緊 (It doesn't matter the one who comes **is** sister **or** brother)

~

> "或\_\_\_\_或\_\_\_\_" = "either\_\_\_\_ or\_\_\_\_"

Example:

全部隊員**或**(者)死**或**(者)傷，我们已經沒法再戦 (All team members **either** died **or** injured, we can fight no longer)

> "或是\_\_\_\_或是\_\_\_\_" = "is either\_\_\_\_ or\_\_\_\_"

Example:
來的**或是**姐姐, **或是**哥哥, 總之不會是父母 (The one who comes **is either** sister **or** brother, in short, will not be parents)

> *I was about to write 我沒有或姐姐或哥哥。*

As username_1 stated:

我**既沒有**姐姐**也没有**哥哥 (I have **neither** sister **nor** brother)

我**既有**姐姐**也有**哥哥 (I have sister **and also** brother)


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-01-23. Score: 2

Chinese seldom use 或. There is usually other ways to express the idea.

I do not have any sisters **or** brothers.
我**既**没有姐妹**也**没有兄弟。

You’d better hurry, **or** you will be late.
快点，**要不然**就迟到了。

They **either** died **or** escaped.
他们**不是**死了**就是**逃了。
Note that the Chinese sentence literally means “if they did not die, then they escaped.” If you have some mathematics or logic background, you may have noticed that in English, the primitive logical operators are “and”, “or”, and “not”. But in Chinese, the primitive logical operators are “and”, “implies” and “not”. “If not A, then B” is logically equivalent to “A or B”.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-01-24. Score: 0

You may compare 或 in Chinese with "⋁" in logic or "or" in the languages in Europe. In Chinese it does not express choice, but rather express something or someone else is the same,or express enumeration. To express choice is a simulation to the languages in Europe. It is not natural in speech of the illiterate

One historic reason for such a usage is that in ancient Chinese, 或 mean there are someone, or someone.


---

