Have you ever made these mistakes when speaking Chinese? (conjunction words - 1) As a professional teacher of Chinese, I often come across misused words and phrases. I will try to record them here and hope this would be useful for learner of Chinese. 还是 vs 或者 both words could be translated into "or". In English, you may use "or" in both statements and questions. For example: - I don't mind tea or coffee. - Would you like tea or coffe? In Chinese, however, you need to use different "or" in different situations, which often causes problems for second language speakers. When making an "or" statement, you need to use 或者; When asking an "or" question, 还是 is the one to use. For example: - 我不介意喝茶或者喝咖啡。 - 你喜欢喝茶还是喝咖啡？ You may listen to the recording for the pronunciation of the example sentences.