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In all the examples I have come across, 或者 is always used to express the conjunction or between two options in statements.

My question is if you can still use it between three or more options. That is, is it possible to do the following structure?

... option 1, option 2, 或者 option 3.

Otherwise, how could you express this in Chinese?

3 Answers 3

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Yes, you can. What we usually put is something like:

你可以给我A, 或者B, 或者C, 或者D.

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Yes, you can, but I think (要)不然 is better.

  • 你選擇誰 - 大明,或(者)小明,(要)不然大衛? "Who you chose - 大明 or 小明, (if neither) how about 大衛?"

  • 你想要什麼 - 橘子,或(是)香蕉,(要)不然蘋果? "What do you want - orange or banana, (if not) how about an apple?)

  • 父親對女兒說: 妳可選擇上大學或者大專, 要不然棄讀書去就業. "A father says to his daughter: You can choose to go on to study in the university or a trade college, if neither (otherwise), you can abandon/give up your books and look for work instead."

  • 鱼有多種吃法, 煎或(是)煮, 要不然燉湯, 再不然(就)做生鱼片.

Note: 或是 = 或者. It can also make a good sentence with the form 1 或者 2, 或是 3.

Word in parentheses can be omitted.

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  • ah, I meant 或者 in statements (not in questions). Is it still the same? (I thought in questions you had to use 还是 instead of 或者).
    – Puco4
    Dec 26, 2021 at 19:00
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Yes, you can. If there are three options, you can also say A或者B,再或者C。再=again You can also use还是: A, B, 还是C? 或者is formal, 还是is less formal

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