どちらか
どちらか
pronoun
one or the other; either one; one of (two things)
1.
one or the other (of two options); either one
Combines どちら (which of two) with the indefinite particle か. Picks out an unspecified one from a pair — usually translated as 'either one', 'one of the two', or 'whichever'.
どちらか選んでください。
Please pick one of the two.
どちらかと言えば紅茶の方が好きだ。
If I had to choose, I'd say I prefer black tea.
紙か電子版か、どちらかをお選びいただけます。
You can choose either the paper or the digital version.
Refers to a pair, not three or more. Use どれか for three or more options. The casual contraction どっちか is extremely common in speech.
FIXED EXPRESSIONS:
- どちらかと言えば: if I had to say which; if anything
- どちらかと言うと: if one had to choose between them
- どちらか一方: one or the other (of the two)
- どちらか選ぶ: to choose between two
SIMILAR WORDS:
- どちらも: both — covers the pair
- どちらでも: either is fine; any one will do
- どれか: any one of (three or more)
- どっちか: casual contracted form