entweder

conjunction
either, either...or
B1

Entweder is a correlative conjunction meaning 'either' or used in the pattern 'either...or' (entweder...oder) to present alternatives. It introduces one of two options; often paired with oder. It can stand alone as 'either' in colloquial speech, but commonly appears in paired constructions for clarity.

Examples

Du kannst entweder Tee oder Kaffee haben.
You can have either tea or coffee.
Entweder senkte die Firma die Preise, oder die Verkäufe blieben niedrig, obwohl die Werbung intensiv war.
Either the company lowered the prices, or sales remained low, although the advertising was intensive.
Entweder du kommst jetzt, oder du verpasst den Film.
Either you come now, or you'll miss the movie.

Details

Typecorrelative

Mnemonics

👁️Imagine two doors with a sign 'entweder / oder' above them, showing two choices
👂Sounds like 'enter-either' — choose one entrance or the other

Notes

Often used in the correlative pair 'entweder ... oder' to present two alternatives. It can stand alone in colloquial speech but typically pairs with 'oder'.

Category

Vocabulary Explorer

Nearby in Dictionary