How do you say "That, or" in a nice way


In English you say, e.g.

> This restaurant seems to be very popular. That, or everybody just wants to
> use the toilets, which seem to be free.

The thing is, I already complete the sentence, and then as an add-on we add an
alternative suggestion to that sentence. What is a nice way to express that
sentiment.

I thought about それとか、, but I don't know if that really expresses what I mean.




You can use either あるいは (literary/formal) or それか (colloquial/casual). Common
patterns include:

  * Aだ。あるいはBだ。
  * Aだ。あるいはBかだ。
  * Aだ。あるいはBだろう。
  * Aだ。あるいはBかのどちらかだ。

For example:

>   * 彼は天才に違いない。それか、単なる馬鹿だ。
>   * 返答がないのは忙しいからだろう。あるいは暇だから寝ているんだろう。
>

There is also さもなくば (literally "if that's not the case"), which is even more
stiffer than あるいは.

The particle とか forms a list, and thus それとか means "in addition to that". This
is not what you want now.




You can use either あるいは (literary/formal) or それか (colloquial/casual). Common
patterns include:

  * Aだ。あるいはBだ。
  * Aだ。あるいはBかだ。
  * Aだ。あるいはBだろう。
  * Aだ。あるいはBかのどちらかだ。

For example:

>   * 彼は天才に違いない。それか、単なる馬鹿だ。
>   * 返答がないのは忙しいからだろう。あるいは暇だから寝ているんだろう。
>

There is also さもなくば (literally "if that's not the case"), which is even more
stiffer than あるいは.

The particle とか forms a list, and thus それとか means "in addition to that". This
is not what you want now.

