or not

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or not^¹

[ɔ˨ nɔt˨] Singapore
[ə.nɔt˨] Singapore

Where it comes 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.

particle anot · ornot

Malaysia, Singapore, colloquial Final interrogative particle, forming a yes/no question from a declarative statement. Are you coming or not?
Similar: is it

or not^²

phrase anot · 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.

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MLA

"or not." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/or%20not. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

or not. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/or%20not

Chicago

"or not." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/or%20not.

BibTeX

@misc{or_not_2026,
  title = {or not},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/or%20not},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}