According to my understanding, the correct use of "或者"(meaning "or"). But the character "者" means a person who specialized in something. Why isn't it "或则" similar to "否则". Since "则" has any meanings. Like: to follow, standard/norm, then, etc. Sorry if this is supposed to be something obvious.
1
-
1或则 is used in old Chinese.– danOct 29, 2021 at 7:55
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
According to 百度百科，或则 is a valid Chinese word (have similar meaning to 或者)
鲁迅《华盖集·“碰壁”之馀》：“平时憎恶我的却总希望我做一个完人，即使敌手用了卑劣的流言和阴谋，也应该正襟危坐，毫无愤怒，默默地吃苦；或则戟指嚼舌，喷血而亡。”参见“或者”。
In the above quoted text, 或则 can be considered as or else
或者 can also mean somebody or someone:
《初刻拍案惊奇》卷二十：“或者因一句话上，成就了一家儿夫妇；或者因一纸字中，拆散了一世的姻缘。”
-
1“或者因一句话上，成就了一家儿夫妇；或者因一纸字中，拆散了一世的姻缘。” I don't think 或者here means someone. I think this is a case of ellipsis. “(someone)或者因一句话上，成就了一家儿夫妇；(someone)或者因一纸字中，拆散了一世的姻缘。” It's quite common in Chinese to omit the subject.– joehuaOct 29, 2021 at 11:10
-
Nope, if you think this way, then 或者 is meaningless or redundant. You have “或曰” as “someone says”. Nov 16, 2021 at 7:35
Actually, “者” doesn't have to stand for a person. According to 新华字典， “者” can refer to either someone, like
读书者有几。——清·袁枚《黄生借书说》
where 读书者 means a person who reads,
or something, like
逝者如斯夫!不舍昼夜。——《论语》
where 逝者 means the passing time, and
二者不可得兼。——《孟子·梁惠王上》
where 二者 refers to “these two things mentioned above”.
There's much more examples, where 者 can also stand for "the reason of which", etc. So, I would consider 或者 as "something alternative" or something likes that.
