或(あ)るいはOr, Possibly, Maybe, Perhaps, Or possibly

Structure

Verb + か + あるいは
［い］Adjective + か + あるいは
［な］Adjective + か + あるいは
Noun + （か） + あるいは

あるいは + Phrase + かもしれない

Details

About あるいは

あるいは is a construction in Japanese that is used as a 接続語(せつぞくご) (conjunction). It usually appears after statements that have been marked with the adverbial particle か. あるいは may be loosely translated as 'possibly', 'maybe', or 'or'.

Although usually being treated as a single word, あるいは is actually a combination of the attributive form of 或(あ)る, a verb meaning 'a certain', the suffix character い (used for making い-Adjectives), and the adverbial particle は. Due to this, the literal meaning of あるいは is just 'another possibility', as it highlights a certain something existing within the same area/category as (A).

Synonyms

Examples

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鍋(なべ)或(ある)いは深(ふか)めのフライパンを使(つか)いましょう。

Let's use a pot or a deep frying pan.

動画(どうが)或(ある)いは写真(しゃしん)でもいいので送(おく)ってください。

Please send me video or pictures, anything is ok.

月曜日(げつようび)或(ある)いは火曜日(かようび)であれば、参加(さんか)できます。

If it is Monday or Tuesday, I can attend.

植物(しょくぶつ)或(ある)いは昆虫(こんちゅう)を観察(かんさつ)しましょう。

Let's observe some plants or bugs.

晴(は)れ或(ある)いは曇(くも)りであれば、お祭(まつ)りに行(い)きましょう。

Whether it is sunny or cloudy, let's go to the festival.

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あるいは – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (14 in total)

simias
Thank you. I think what confuses me is that the point in general as explained in the bunpro lesson seems to carry some element of uncertainty, but there’s isn’t any here, right?

So basically in this case it effectively means と?
nekoyama
It means A or B, like AかB.
casual

晴れあるいは曇りであれば、お祭りに行きましょう。

Am I right in thinking that this means:

If it’s sunny, or even if it’s cloudy, let’s go to the festival. (but it’s better if it’s sunny, and we make no promises about other cases such as rain).

The impression I’m getting from the English translation is somewhat different, which is throwing me off a little bit:

Whether it is sunny or cloudy, let’s go to the festival. (it doesn’t matter which, we go there absolutely in any case).

I’ve re-read the linked 類語例解辞典 snippet about あるいは, and I don’t 100% understand it, but it seems that it typically puts more emphasis on option A as opposed to B.