Expressing "how about" with "yaobu"

要不 (yàobù) can have a number of meanings, ranging from "either/or" to "how about." It's quite colloquial to be 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 + 吧

or

要不 + Option B + 吧 ，Reason / Situation

Examples

• 一个人 去 没 意思，要不 我们 一起 去 吧 。Yīgèrén qù méi yìsi, yàobù wǒmen yīqǐ qù ba.It's no fun to go by myself. How about we go together?
• 要不 你 先 走 吧 ，我 还没 做完 。Yàobù nǐ xiān zǒu bā, wǒ hái méi zuò wán.How about you go first? I haven't finished yet.
• 要不 出去 吃 吧 ，我 没 做饭 。Yàobù chūqù chī bā, wǒ méi zuòfàn.How about we go eat out? I didn't cook.
• 下雨 了，要不 明天 去 吧 。Xià yǔ le, yàobù míngtiān qù ba.It's raining. How about we go tomorrow?
• 走路 去 挺 远 的，要不 我 开车 送 你 去 吧 。Zǒulù qù tǐng yuǎn de, yàobù wǒ kāichē sòng nǐ qù ba.It's quite far away to walk there. How about I drive you there?
• 我 家 不太 好 找，要不 我 去 地铁站 接 你 吧 。Wǒ jiā bù tài hǎo zhǎo, yàobù wǒ qù dìtiězhàn jiē nǐ ba.It's not easy to find my place. How about I pick you up at the metro station?

See also

• "Or" in statements
• Suggestions with "ba"
• Expressing "had better" with "haishi"

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