huò​ 或 vs. huò​zhě 或者

ok4rm

April 20, 2012, 06:40 AM posted in I Have a Question

Hello,

thanks for the great 请问 lesson about or's. Recently my teacher sent me a copy of an email regarding some competition. It ends with this phrase:

如果你的朋友或学生对活动亦有兴趣，同样欢他们。

rúguǒ nǐ de péngyòu huò xuéshēng duì huódòng yì yǒu xìngqù, ... if your friends *OR*/*MAYBE* students are interested, ... etc.

So, are 或 and 或者 the same, are they interchangeable? Does it mean that both can be used in the meaning of "or" (in a statement) and "maybe, perhaps"? (Because this is what is written in the dictionary.)

Or, is it that 或 more often means "perhaps" rather than "or", while 或者 is the opposite (more often "or" rather than "maybe")? So in this particular sentence 或 is a kind of abbreviation but it means "or"?

Or maybe both? ;-)

Sorry that I am writing on Friday afternoon, we have Friday morning over here :-) Anyway, I will be looking forward to Sunday late night (Shanghai Monday early morning) if I find an interesting answer :-)