Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

or not

[ɔ˨ nɔt˨]

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 6.31 in modern English

Syllables: or not
IPA: [ɔ˨ nɔt˨]

5

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

particle

Final interrogative particle, forming a yes/no question from a declarative statement.

Colloquial

phrase

Emphasizes that a particular claim or idea makes no difference regarding what can or has happened.

phrase

A sardonic response to a new event that contradicts what the speaker has just stated.

Example Sentences

"Are you coming or not?"
"You want to go see snow or not, Ma?"
"Can or not ?"
""I bet the green car will make it unscathed!" said Mildred. Suddenly, there came a loud crunch from the racetrack. "Or not," she sighed."

Etymology

Calque of Hokkien 抑無 /抑无 (a̍h-bô / á-bô, literally “or not; or no; or none”). See also Hokkien 是毋是 (sī-m̄-sī / sǐ-m̄-sǐ, “whether or not”), 是抑毋是 (sī á-m̄-sī / sǐ á-m̄-sǐ, “isn't?”, literally “is it? or is it not?”), Mandarin 是不是 (shìbùshì, “whether or not”), forming a question, and similar interrogative expressions with 不, 無 /无, 唔 and other dialectal synonyms.

Usage

Colloquial

Inflected Forms

anot (alternative, Singapore) ornot (alternative, Singapore)

Phrases

on second thought

Frequently Paired Words

on second thought

Synonyms

is it

Questions

How do you pronounce or not?: The recorded pronunciation is [ɔ˨ nɔt˨].
What does or not mean?: Final interrogative particle, forming a yes/no question from a declarative statement.
Where does or not come from?: Calque of Hokkien 抑無 /抑无 (a̍h-bô / á-bô, literally “or not; or no; or none”). See also Hokkien 是毋是 (sī-m̄-sī / sǐ-m̄-sǐ, “whether or not”), 是抑毋是 (sī á-m̄-sī / sǐ á-m̄-sǐ, “isn't?”, literally “is it? or is it not?”), Mandarin 是不是 (shìbùshì, “whether or not”), forming a question, and similar interrogative expressions with 不, 無 /无, 唔 and other dialectal synonyms.

How to pronounce or not

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “or not”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([ɔ˨ nɔt˨]) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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