A 还是 B
Use 还是 to ask 'A or B?' — a choice question. Coffee or tea? Boy or girl? Stay or go? Drop 还是 between the two options and you've built a clean alternative question with no extra question particle needed. This is the standard way to ask someone to pick between two things in Chinese; you can extend it to three (A, B, 还是 C?) but two is the most common.
Structure
[A] 还是 [B]?
A háishì B?
How to Think About It
还是 is the question version of 'or.' If you're stating a fact ('I want tea or coffee, either is fine'), you'd use 或者. If you're asking the listener to pick ('do you want tea or coffee?'), it has to be 还是. The two are not interchangeable. Also note: a sentence with 还是 is already a question — don't add 吗 at the end. 吗 turns a statement into a yes/no question, but 还是 already provides the question structure.
Examples
你喝茶还是咖啡？
Nǐ hē chá háishì kāfēi?
Do you want tea or coffee?
我们今天去还是明天去？
Wǒmen jīntiān qù háishì míngtiān qù?
Are we going today or tomorrow?
他是中国人还是日本人？
Tā shì Zhōngguó rén háishì Rìběn rén?
Is he Chinese or Japanese?
Common Mistake
Learners attach 吗 to a 还是 question, doubling up question markers. They also sometimes swap in 或者 in a question, which makes the sentence sound like a statement.
你喝茶还是咖啡吗？
你喝茶还是咖啡？
Don't Confuse With
或者
Statement 'or' — used when listing options without asking ('I'll have tea or coffee'). 还是 is only for questions.
还是 (adverb, 'still')
Same characters, different meaning. 还是 as an adverb means 'still' or 'after all' (我还是去吧, 'I'll go after all'). Context tells you which.
A 不 A?
Yes/no version of the same verb ('do you eat or not?'). Use 还是 when the two sides are different items, not a verb and its negation.
Practice
你想吃米饭____面条？
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还是
她姓王____姓李？
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还是
Arrange: 还是 / 你 / 走 / 坐车 / 路
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你坐车还是走路？
Translate: Do you want to go by bus or by subway?
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你想坐公交车还是地铁？
Write a question using A 还是 B asking a friend to pick something.
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周末我们看电影还是去公园？
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear A 还是 B in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
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