The word 还是 (háishi) already turns a sentence into a question on its own — so adding 吗 at the end is redundant. In Mandarin, you place 还是 between two options to ask someone to pick one, whether you're offering tea or coffee or asking if someone is a teacher or a student.
The structure is straightforward: A + 还是 + B. Here is the key example:
你喝茶还是咖啡？(nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi?) — Do you want tea or coffee?
In this sentence, 茶 (chá, tea) and 咖啡 (kāfēi, coffee) are the two options. The verb 喝 (hē, to drink) applies to both, so you don't repeat it before 咖啡. The word 还是 sits between the options, doing the work that "or" does in English — but with a key difference: it makes the sentence interrogative by itself.
This is a live conversation lesson where you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin in real time — voice, not typing. Each lesson targets one grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes. Mei Lin corrects your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapts to your level, so you'll practice 还是 by actually asking and answering choice questions aloud.
You can try the first lesson free; no credit card is required to start talking. If you've completed another HSK 1 live lesson on A-not-A questions, this lesson pairs naturally with it — both are question patterns, but 还是 specifically asks someone to choose between options.
After speaking practice, you can reinforce the characters with the free printable Chinese worksheet generator. Ready-made packs cover HSK 1–3 words.
Once you're comfortable offering choices, move on to another HSK 1 live lesson on asking opinions and making suggestions with 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng). For more lessons at this level, browse the HSK 1 lessons hub page.
还是 (háishi) means "or" and is used in questions to offer choices between two options. For example, 你喝茶还是咖啡？(nǐ hē chá háishi kāfēi?) asks "Do you want tea or coffee?" — it signals that the listener should pick one option from the two presented.
No. 还是 already makes the sentence a question, so adding 吗 at the end would be redundant. This is the key insight behind Offering Choices in Questions: the structure A + 还是 + B is complete on its own and needs no additional question particle.
This live conversation lesson takes roughly 10 minutes. You talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin, who corrects your grammar and pronunciation as you practice Offering Choices by asking and answering questions with 还是 in real time. The lesson focuses on this single pattern so you can master it through active speaking.
Yes — you can print handwriting worksheets using the free Chinese Worksheet Generator. Ready-made packs cover HSK 1–3 words, so you can reinforce characters like 茶 and 咖啡 after your speaking practice with Mei Lin.