Expressing "how about" with "yaobu"

要不 (yàobù) can have a number of meanings, ranging from "either/or" to "how about."

要不 as to mark possible choices

Structure

要不 can be used to offer "either/or" choices to others, similar to 要么.

要不 + Option A，要不 + Option B

Examples

• 你 要不 看书，要不 听音乐 。Nǐ yàobù kànshū yàobù tīng yīnyuè.You can either study or listen to music.
• 要不 你 做，要不 我 做，但是 一定 要 做 完。Yàobù nǐ zuò, yàobù wǒ zuò, dànshì yīdìng yào zuò wán.Either you do it or I do it, but it's definitely going to be done.

要不 used for suggestions

Structure

要不 can be used as an indirect way of giving a suggestion, as the speaker is using 要不 to seek consent of the listener. (Once again, 要么 can be used similarly.) When using 要不 in this way, it can come either at the beginning of the sentence, or in the middle, after explaining the situation.

reason / situation, 要不 + Option B

要不 + Option B, reason / situation

Examples

• 一个人去看电影没意思，要不 我们 一起 去 吧。Yī gè rén qù kàn diànyǐng méi yìsi, yàobù wǒmen yīqǐ qù ba.It's no fun to go to the movie by myself. How about we go together?
• 要不 我们 去 逛街 吧，比 在家 睡觉 有 意思。Yàobù wǒmen qù guàngjiē ba, bǐ zàijiā shuìjiào yǒu yìsi.Let's go shopping. It's more fun than sleeping at home.

要不 means "otherwise"

Structure

要不 can also be used to mean "otherwise" (a shortened form of 要不然):

Statement, 要不 + Result

Examples

• 你 快点 打电话 给 他，要不 他会 很 担心。Nǐ kuài diǎn dǎ diànhuà gěi tā, yàobù tā huì hěn dānxīn.I need to call him soon, or he'll start to worry.
• 我 要 打车，要不 我会迟到。Wǒ yào dǎ chē, yàobù wǒ huì chídào.I'm going to take a taxi, otherwise I'll be late.
• 我们 今 晚 要 做好 这个 PPT，要不 明天 老板 肯定 生气。Wǒmen jīnwǎn yào zuò hǎo zhè ge PPT, yàobù míngtiān lǎobǎn kěndìng shēngqì.We need to get this PPT prepared tonight, otherwise the boss must be angry tomorrow.

要不然 can be used interchangeably with 要不 when it is used to mean 否则.

See also

• "Or" in statements
• Expressing "either ... or ..." with "yaome"
• Suggestions with "ba"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Home With Kids1 (家有儿女1)(pp. 50) →buy
• BRIDGE (桥梁 实用汉语中级教程下)(pp. 187) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 123-4) →buy
• 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 (pp. 166-7) →buy