Meanings
or not1
alternative Singapore anot · alternative Singapore ornot
- MalaysiaSingaporecolloquialFinal interrogative particle, forming a yes/no question from a declarative statement.
Are you coming or not?
2 more examples
You want to go see snow or not, Ma?
2009, Jean Tay, Boom, Epigram Books, →ISBN, Act I, scene iiCan or not ?
2020 January 26, JustGreat, “I ordered Pizza Hut”, in SG TalkSynonyms: is it
or not2
alternative Singapore anot · alternative Singapore ornot
- Emphasizes that a particular claim or idea makes no difference regarding what can or has happened.
- A sardonic response to a new event that contradicts what the speaker has just stated.
"I bet the green car will make it unscathed!" said Mildred. Suddenly, there came a loud crunch from the racetrack. "Or not," she sighed.
Synonyms & antonyms
particleFinal interrogative particle, forming a yes/no question from a declarative statement.
Origin
- Hokkien抑無 /抑无
- Englishor not
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.
More words from Hokkien
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
or not. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/or%20not
“or not.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/or%20not. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “or not,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/or%20not.
Source: or not on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.