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或是

huò shì

HSK 3.0 level 5 2-character word

或是 (huò shì) means "or; either one or the other". It is an HSK 3.0 level 5 word, and was not on the old six-level HSK list.

What 或是 means

1. or
2. either one or the other

The characters in 或是

• 或huòmaybe; perhaps; might
• 是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true…

Example sentences

• 你可以拿大的盒子或是小的盒子。
  Nǐ kěyǐ ná dà de hézi huòshì xiǎo de hézi.
  You may take either the big box or the small one.
• 若没有将衣服折起来或是挂在衣架上，会起皱纹。
  If you don't fold your clothes or hang them, they will be wrinkled.
• 所有史蒂夫的工作不是无聊就是非高薪或是两者兼而有之。
  Suǒyǒu Shǐdìfū de gōngzuò bù shì wúliáo jiùshì fēi gāoxīn huòshì liǎngzhě jiān'éryǒuzhī.
  All of Steve's jobs were boring or not well-paid or both.
• 在美国，当你进入餐厅时，你可选择坐在吸烟区或是禁烟区。
  Zài Měiguó, dāng nǐ jìnrù cāntīng shí, nǐ kěxuǎn zé zuò zài xīyānqū huòshì jìnyān qū.
  In the U.S., you have the option, when you enter a restaurant, to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section.
• 世上所有问题都可以用下面三种方式解决：接受，改变，或是干脆放开。
  Shìshàng suǒyǒu wèntí dōu kěyǐ yòng xiàmiàn sān zhǒng fāngshì jiějué: jiēshòu, gǎibiàn, huòshì gāncuì fàngkāi.
  There are three solutions to every problem: accept it, change it or leave it.
• 仍有在孩子熟睡后仍难以入眠的父母，他们担心如何偿还按揭月供、付医药费或是存够钱让孩子上大学。
  Réng yǒu zài háizi shúshuì hòu réng nányǐ rùmián de fùmǔ, tāmen dānxīn rúhé chánghuán ànjiē yuègōng, fù yīyào fèi huòshì cún gòu qián ràng háizi shàng dàxué.
  There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education.

Sounds the same

Read huò shì, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 获释freed (from prison); to obtain release
• 祸事disaster; doom

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read huò shì correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.