<ul>
<li><p>任何美国公司或个人 = any American companies or individuals</p>
</li>
<li><p>或 = or</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>“And” (和/跟) would be a strange choice here because then it would seems as if two sets of criteria need to be met before a law was broken. Whereas the “or” sets it up for one or the other.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-09T06:50:16.900Z
2020-08-09T06:50:16.900Z
Mou某
<p>My take is that 或 is used in <strong>formal/official context</strong> and 和 is more <strong>casual</strong>.  It's because 或 put an emphasis on the logic A -&gt; C, B -&gt; C, instead of A and B -&gt; C.  With 和, we understand the logic according to context and the logic is a bit loose and it could be either  A -&gt; C, B -&gt; C or A and B -&gt; C.</p>
<p>In daily speech,  it's fine to say  老师不让我和小明跟你联系.  老师不让他<em><strong>或者</strong></em>我跟你联系 sounds more businesslike, probably even a bit pretentious.</p>
<p>In a formal regulatory document, it usually puts: 任何单位<em><strong>或</strong></em>个人不得占用。 In this case, 或 is preferred because of the reason stated above.  However, when we talk about the  regulation with our friends in a casual circumstance, it's fine to say 任何单位<em><strong>和</strong></em>个人都不能占用.</p>
<p>All in all, 或者 is used in the formal (more in written) register and 和 in the casual (more in spoken).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-09T10:30:16.677Z
2020-08-09T10:30:16.677Z
dan
<p>Because of the implied negative meaning in the sentence.</p>
<p>(-) 禁止任何A或B：any A or B is <strong>not</strong> allowed. 'or' is used to make sure neither is allowed, which is the same as in English.</p>
<p>Instead, if the sentence doesn't have any negative meaning (e.g. it's neutral or positive), 'and/or' is used depending on the meaning.</p>
<p>(0) 解禁A和B：the ban is lifted for (both) A and B.</p>
<p>(+) 你支持A还是B？do you support A or B?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-09T09:05:36.607Z
2020-08-09T09:05:36.607Z
Mu Young
<p>It Just omitted the repeated object for the second subject 个人</p>
<p>The subject is [美国公司 or 美国公民]</p>
<blockquote>
<p>任何美国公司 与 TikTok....的  相关交易。</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>或</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>任何个人 与 TikTok....的 相关交易。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>[美国公司 and 美国公民] would also make sense. But the following conjunction is 与 (with/ and). To avoid confusion, (mistaking the subject as [美国公司 and 美国公民 and TikTok] saying [美国公司 or 美国公民] is more clear.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[美国公司 and 美国公民] in another context would be fine. For example: &quot;條例適用於 美国公司 和 美国公民&quot; (regulations apply to U.S. companies and U.S. citizens)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-09T07:15:45.653Z
2020-08-09T07:39:57.250Z
2020-08-09T07:39:57.250Z
Tang Ho
<p>I read the following political article about Trump's executive orders in relation to TikTok and WeChat.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>原因是当地时间6日，美国总统特朗普签署行政令，称抖音海外版（TikTok）和微信对美国国家安全构成威胁，将在45天后禁止任何<strong>美国公司或个人</strong>与TikTok母公司字节跳动以及腾讯控股涉及WeChat的相关交易。</p>
<p><em>My translation</em>: [The] reason is [at] local-time 6-th [of August, 2020], USA president Trump signed executive orders declaring 抖音's foreign edition (TikTok) and WeChat is a threat to US national security, and after 45 days, forbids any US company or individuals having related dealings with TikTok mother company ByteDance and even Tencent Holdings's WeChat.<br />
<sub><a href="https://m.sohu.com/a/412154296_115362?scm=1002.510048.15a01e8.27b4-0&amp;spm=smwp.home.fd-headline.3.1596928597637ZUhwwJs&amp;_trans_=000012_qq_cpc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">iPhone与微信“二选一”？美媒开始担心苹果了！</a>, 8 August 2020; see also <a href="https://translate.google.cn/#view=home&amp;op=translate&amp;sl=zh-CN&amp;tl=en&amp;text=%E5%8E%9F%E5%9B%A0%E6%98%AF%E5%BD%93%E5%9C%B0%E6%97%B6%E9%97%B46%E6%97%A5%EF%BC%8C%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E6%80%BB%E7%BB%9F%E7%89%B9%E6%9C%97%E6%99%AE%E7%AD%BE%E7%BD%B2%E8%A1%8C%E6%94%BF%E4%BB%A4%EF%BC%8C%E7%A7%B0%E6%8A%96%E9%9F%B3%E6%B5%B7%E5%A4%96%E7%89%88%EF%BC%88TikTok%EF%BC%89%E5%92%8C%E5%BE%AE%E4%BF%A1%E5%AF%B9%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E5%9B%BD%E5%AE%B6%E5%AE%89%E5%85%A8%E6%9E%84%E6%88%90%E5%A8%81%E8%83%81%EF%BC%8C%E5%B0%86%E5%9C%A845%E5%A4%A9%E5%90%8E%E7%A6%81%E6%AD%A2%E4%BB%BB%E4%BD%95%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E6%88%96%E4%B8%AA%E4%BA%BA%E4%B8%8ETikTok%E6%AF%8D%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E5%AD%97%E8%8A%82%E8%B7%B3%E5%8A%A8%E4%BB%A5%E5%8F%8A%E8%85%BE%E8%AE%AF%E6%8E%A7%E8%82%A1%E6%B6%89%E5%8F%8AWeChat%E7%9A%84%E7%9B%B8%E5%85%B3%E4%BA%A4%E6%98%93%E3%80%82" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Google Translate</a></sub></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm confused about why it says ……美国公司<strong>或</strong>个人……, and in particular why it's 或 and not 和 or 跟.</p>
<p><strong>Question</strong>: Why is 或 used as highlighted above instead of e.g. 和?</p>

<word-choice><meaning-in-context>
Why is 或 used in 将在45天后禁止任何美国公司或个人与[ByteDance and WeChat]的相关交易 instead of e.g. 和?
# Why is 或 used in 将在45天后禁止任何美国公司或个人与[ByteDance and WeChat]的相关交易 instead of e.g. 和?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-09)

I read the following political article about Trump's executive orders in relation to TikTok and WeChat.

> 原因是当地时间6日，美国总统特朗普签署行政令，称抖音海外版（TikTok）和微信对美国国家安全构成威胁，将在45天后禁止任何**美国公司或个人**与TikTok母公司字节跳动以及腾讯控股涉及WeChat的相关交易。
>
> *My translation*: [The] reason is [at] local-time 6-th [of August, 2020], USA president Trump signed executive orders declaring 抖音's foreign edition (TikTok) and WeChat is a threat to US national security, and after 45 days, forbids any US company or individuals having related dealings with TikTok mother company ByteDance and even Tencent Holdings's WeChat.  
> [iPhone与微信“二选一”？美媒开始担心苹果了！](https://m.sohu.com/a/412154296_115362?scm=1002.510048.15a01e8.27b4-0&spm=smwp.home.fd-headline.3.1596928597637ZUhwwJs&_trans_=000012_qq_cpc), 8 August 2020; see also [Google Translate](https://translate.google.cn/#view=home&op=translate&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&text=%E5%8E%9F%E5%9B%A0%E6%98%AF%E5%BD%93%E5%9C%B0%E6%97%B6%E9%97%B46%E6%97%A5%EF%BC%8C%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E6%80%BB%E7%BB%9F%E7%89%B9%E6%9C%97%E6%99%AE%E7%AD%BE%E7%BD%B2%E8%A1%8C%E6%94%BF%E4%BB%A4%EF%BC%8C%E7%A7%B0%E6%8A%96%E9%9F%B3%E6%B5%B7%E5%A4%96%E7%89%88%EF%BC%88TikTok%EF%BC%89%E5%92%8C%E5%BE%AE%E4%BF%A1%E5%AF%B9%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E5%9B%BD%E5%AE%B6%E5%AE%89%E5%85%A8%E6%9E%84%E6%88%90%E5%A8%81%E8%83%81%EF%BC%8C%E5%B0%86%E5%9C%A845%E5%A4%A9%E5%90%8E%E7%A6%81%E6%AD%A2%E4%BB%BB%E4%BD%95%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E6%88%96%E4%B8%AA%E4%BA%BA%E4%B8%8ETikTok%E6%AF%8D%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E5%AD%97%E8%8A%82%E8%B7%B3%E5%8A%A8%E4%BB%A5%E5%8F%8A%E8%85%BE%E8%AE%AF%E6%8E%A7%E8%82%A1%E6%B6%89%E5%8F%8AWeChat%E7%9A%84%E7%9B%B8%E5%85%B3%E4%BA%A4%E6%98%93%E3%80%82)

I'm confused about why it says ……美国公司**或**个人……, and in particular why it's 或 and not 和 or 跟.

**Question**: Why is 或 used as highlighted above instead of e.g. 和?

**Tags:** word-choice, meaning-in-context


---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-09. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

* 任何美国公司或个人 = any American companies or individuals
* 或 = or

“And” (和/跟) would be a strange choice here because then it would seems as if two sets of criteria need to be met before a law was broken. Whereas the “or” sets it up for one or the other.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-08-09. Score: 1

My take is that 或 is used in **formal/official context** and 和 is more **casual**. It's because 或 put an emphasis on the logic A -> C, B -> C, instead of A and B -> C. With 和, we understand the logic according to context and the logic is a bit loose and it could be either A -> C, B -> C or A and B -> C.

In daily speech, it's fine to say 老师不让我和小明跟你联系. 老师不让他***或者***我跟你联系 sounds more businesslike, probably even a bit pretentious.

In a formal regulatory document, it usually puts: 任何单位***或***个人不得占用。 In this case, 或 is preferred because of the reason stated above. However, when we talk about the regulation with our friends in a casual circumstance, it's fine to say 任何单位***和***个人都不能占用.

All in all, 或者 is used in the formal (more in written) register and 和 in the casual (more in spoken).


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-08-09. Score: 1

Because of the implied negative meaning in the sentence.

(-) 禁止任何A或B：any A or B is **not** allowed. 'or' is used to make sure neither is allowed, which is the same as in English.

Instead, if the sentence doesn't have any negative meaning (e.g. it's neutral or positive), 'and/or' is used depending on the meaning.

(0) 解禁A和B：the ban is lifted for (both) A and B.

(+) 你支持A还是B？do you support A or B?


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-08-09. Score: 1

It Just omitted the repeated object for the second subject 个人

The subject is [美国公司 or 美国公民]

> 任何美国公司 与 TikTok....的 相关交易。

> 或

> 任何个人 与 TikTok....的 相关交易。

[美国公司 and 美国公民] would also make sense. But the following conjunction is 与 (with/ and). To avoid confusion, (mistaking the subject as [美国公司 and 美国公民 and TikTok] saying [美国公司 or 美国公民] is more clear.

> [美国公司 and 美国公民] in another context would be fine. For example: "條例適用於 美国公司 和 美国公民" (regulations apply to U.S. companies and U.S. citizens)


---

