<p>You are right, it means either or.</p>

<p>缸～头的泥鳅儿——耍团转</p>

<p>缸～头的泥鳅儿——滑不了</p>

<p>equal to</p>

<p>缸～头的泥鳅儿——耍团转│滑不了</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T04:23:48.023Z
2018-03-03T04:23:48.023Z
sfy
<p>There is no standard usage for  vertical bar │ in mandarins. So, its usage is defined by the author of the text. You can usually find the usage key from the footnote written in the early pages of a book. For example, │is used in 现代汉语词典 to separate examples. Like this: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>[蹉跎] ...... 岁月~ | 一再~</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So, you can define your own usage based on your need and you might want to provide some usage note as well. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-03T11:45:39.800Z
2018-03-03T11:45:39.800Z
dan
<p>The Chinese wikipedia page for <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E8%B1%8E%E7%B7%9A" rel="nofollow noreferrer">vertical bars</a> only talks about:</p>

<ul>
<li>Math</li>
<li>Physics</li>
<li>Computing</li>
</ul>

<p>In the book《成都方言》I'm seeing this type of <em>xiehouyu</em> with a vertical bar in the middle of the "注":</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DVaJZ.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DVaJZ.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
</blockquote>

<p></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>缸钵头的泥鳅儿——耍团转│滑不了</p>
</blockquote>

<p>My best guess is that it meant either/or but then under the entry for 钵 it's written the same way:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/aFZlS.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/aFZlS.png" alt="bo"></a></p>
</blockquote>

<p><br/></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>钵 bo 钵钵，钵儿，陶盆：鸡吃一撮，狗吃一～。歇后语：“缸～头的泥鳅儿——耍团转│滑不了。”</p>
</blockquote>

<p>No indications of different usage that I can see here.</p>

<p>What does the vertical bar do here? What does it mean? Is it either/or?</p>

<punctuation>
Usage of "│" (vertical bar) in Chinese?
# Usage of "│" (vertical bar) in Chinese?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-03)

The Chinese wikipedia page for [vertical bars](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E8%B1%8E%E7%B7%9A) only talks about:

* Math
* Physics
* Computing

In the book《成都方言》I'm seeing this type of *xiehouyu* with a vertical bar in the middle of the "注":

> [![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/DVaJZ.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/DVaJZ.png)

> 缸钵头的泥鳅儿——耍团转│滑不了

My best guess is that it meant either/or but then under the entry for 钵 it's written the same way:

> [![bo](https://i.sstatic.net/aFZlS.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/aFZlS.png)

> 钵 bo 钵钵，钵儿，陶盆：鸡吃一撮，狗吃一～。歇后语：“缸～头的泥鳅儿——耍团转│滑不了。”

No indications of different usage that I can see here.

What does the vertical bar do here? What does it mean? Is it either/or?

**Tags:** punctuation


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-03-03. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

You are right, it means either or.

缸～头的泥鳅儿——耍团转

缸～头的泥鳅儿——滑不了

equal to

缸～头的泥鳅儿——耍团转│滑不了


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-03-03. Score: 1

There is no standard usage for vertical bar │ in mandarins. So, its usage is defined by the author of the text. You can usually find the usage key from the footnote written in the early pages of a book. For example, │is used in 现代汉语词典 to separate examples. Like this:

> [蹉跎] ...... 岁月~ | 一再~

So, you can define your own usage based on your need and you might want to provide some usage note as well.


---

