Chinese Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Chinese language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
What is the difference between those three words? I've been trying to find the answer, but some says they are all the same, some that 或者 is more formal, and some (but i think that person was a cantonese native speaker) that 或是 is more formal. I know that 或者 is used in statements (vs. 还是), the other two are also used in statements or can be used in questions, too?
So they all mean "or"? And if so, are some more/less formal?
或者 = 也许, "maybe"; "perhaps"
或是 = 或许；也许是 = 或者是, "or"; "one or the other"
还是, nevertheless; still; or
还是 has broader uses, see https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E8%BF%98%E6%98%AF for more info.
