或

Outer 戈 — the halberd radical, indexing radical for 或. Pictures a long-handled dagger-axe, the standard weapon of early Chinese warfare. Anchors 或 in the weapon family alongside 戏 (play), 战 (battle), 我 (the spear-bearing self). Originally 或 pictured a guard with halberd defending a walled territory — that fortified region was the original meaning.

Inner 口 — the walled territory being guarded by the halberd. Combined with 戈 the picture is unmistakable: a fortified zone with armed defender. This is the original 或 = 'a country, a region.' The land-meaning later got the 囗 enclosure added around it to become 國/国, freeing 或 to drift into 'either/or, perhaps' through phonetic borrowing.

Bottom horizontal — the boundary line of the territory, the ground or wall the halberd-guard stands on. Pure positional indicator (not the number 'one'); together with the inner 口 above it forms the picture of a defended ground. Closes the character visually and grounds the 'land-with-guard' image.