Words that indicate an alternative using “or”
Disjunctive conjunctions (选择连接词) are connective words that indicate choice, alternation or exclusion.
还是 and 或者
There are two words for “or” in Chinese, 还是 
and 或者 . They are used differently.
and 或者 . They are used differently.“Or” with 还是
还是 is used in alternative questions. It conveys the sense of ‘A or B?’
Pay attention
We don’t need to use any other question words in questions with 还是.
Examples
你喝茶还是咖啡？
Do you drink tea or coffee?
nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi
你赞成还是反对？
Are you for or against?
nǐ zànchéng háishi fǎnduì
If the question refers to a verb, it is often repeated:
If the question refers to the object, you don’t need to repeat the verb:
Examples
我们要坐车去还是骑车去？
Are we going by car or (going) by bike?
wǒmen yào zuòchē qù háishi qíchē qù
Pay attention
The question refers to the verb: "how are we going?", therefore we repeat the verb 去.
If the question refers to the object, you don’t need to repeat the verb:
Examples
我要买苹果还是李子？
Should I buy apples or plums?
wǒ yào mǎi píngguǒ háishi lǐzi
Pay attention
The question refers to the object: "to buy what?".
还是 can also be used in statements to express doubt. It is often used with words like “I don’t know”, “I’m not sure”.
Examples
她不知道他是活还是死
She doesn't know if he is alive or dead
tā bù zhīdào tā shì huó háishi sǐ
购物还是不购物，这是个问题
To but or not to buy, that is the question
gòuwù háishi bú gòuwù, zhè shì ge wèntí
“Or” with 或者
或者 is used in statements and means ‘A or B’.
Pay attention
In colloquial speech, 或者 is sometimes shortened to 或.
Examples
我喝咖啡或茶，都行
I drink both coffee and tea. Both are fine
wǒ hē kāfēi huò chá, dōu xíng
我们可以坐飞机去或者坐高铁去
We can go by plane or by high-speed train
wǒmen kěyǐ zuò fēijī qù huòzhě zuò gāotiě qù
Pay attention
Also in colloquial speech, you may use 还是 instead of 或者.