是...还是...
Reach for this when you're offering two options and asking the listener to pick — 'is it A or B?' It's the standard A-or-B question pattern in Chinese, and also works in indirect questions ('I don't know whether A or B'). Both options are framed as plausible; the speaker isn't leaning toward either one. Neutral register, works in casual speech, formal interviews, and news writing alike.
Structure
是 [A] 还是 [B]?
shì... háishì...?
How to Think About It
Chinese doesn't reuse 吗 for choice questions. The 还是 in the middle IS the question marker — it tells the listener 'pick one of the two I just named.' Drop the 是 at the start in casual speech ('喝茶还是咖啡?') but keep 还是 in the middle no matter what. If you swap 还是 for 或者, the sentence stops being a question and becomes a statement listing options.
Examples
你今天去还是明天去？
Nǐ jīntiān qù háishì míngtiān qù?
Are you going today or tomorrow?
这是真的还是假的？
Zhè shì zhēn de háishì jiǎ de?
Is this real or fake?
我不知道他是中国人还是日本人。
Wǒ bù zhīdào tā shì Zhōngguórén háishì Rìběnrén.
I don't know whether he's Chinese or Japanese.
你要喝茶还是咖啡？
Nǐ yào hē chá háishì kāfēi?
Do you want tea or coffee?
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 use 或者 (also 'or') in questions because both translate to English 'or.' 或者 lists options in statements; 还是 asks the listener to choose. Mixing them up turns your question into a flat declaration.
你喜欢茶或者咖啡？
你喜欢茶还是咖啡？
Don't Confuse With
或者
或者 = 'or' in statements ('we can take a bus or a taxi'). 还是 = 'or' in questions and embedded choices ('bus or taxi?'). Wrong choice flips the meaning from offering to asking.
还是 (still / after all)
还是 also means 'still' or 'after all' as an adverb ('还是去吧 — let's go anyway'). Same word, different role. Position and context distinguish them: between two options = 'or'; before a verb = 'still / anyway.'
...还是...，都...
When 还是 appears with 都 ('whether A or B, all…'), it shifts from a question to a 'no matter which' construction. Don't read every 还是 as a question marker.
或者...或者...
Lists alternatives in statements ('I'll have tea or coffee, doesn't matter'). Never use in questions.
无论是...还是...
Means 'whether A or B, the result is the same.' Same words, but it's no longer a question — it's framing two cases that share an outcome.
Practice
是倾听，___ 压制？
Show answer
还是
你喝茶 ___ 咖啡？
Show answer
还是
Arrange: 还是 / 你 / 走路 / 坐车
Show answer
你走路还是坐车？
Do you want to eat at home or go out?
Show answer
你想在家吃还是出去吃？
Use 是A还是B to ask someone to choose between two options.
Show answer
你周末是想看电影还是想去爬山？
Fill in: 你要吃米饭____是面条？
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 3 Fluentide episodes:
伊朗会接受这种带有明显屈辱色彩的条件吗？新领导人的人选问题将如何解决？这些问题都悬而未决。
是那个在手机里完美的假男朋友好？还是这个在身边不完美的真男人好？
是倾听，还是压制？
Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 是...还是... in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start, no card.