Expressing "how about" with "yaobu"

Colloquially, 要不 (yàobù) can be used for making suggestions, like how we use "how about" in English.

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?
• 挺 好吃 的 ，要不 你 尝尝 ？Tǐng hǎochī de, yàobù nǐ chángchang?It's tasty. Would you like to taste it?
• 要不 我们 换 个 地方 吧 ，这里 太 吵 了 。Yàobù wǒmen huàn gè dìfang ba, zhèlǐ tài chǎo le.How about we go to somewhere else? It's too loud here.
• 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.
• 下雨 了，要不 明天 去 吧 。Xiàyǔ 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?

Multiple Meanings

When 要不 (yào bù) is used to mean "otherwise”, it's a shortened form of 要不然, which literally means "if that's not the case."

Note 要不 (yào bù) can also be used to offer "either/or" choices to others, similar to 要么.

Here are a few examples of 要不 (yào bù) used as "otherwise":

• 你 先 吃 吧 ，要 不然 饭 就 凉 了 。Nǐ xiān chī ba, yào bùrán fàn jiù liáng le.You should eat, otherwise the food gets cold.
• 走 吧 ，要不 没 地铁 了 。Zǒu ba, yàobù méi dìtiě le.Let's go, or we will miss the last metro.
• 打车 去 吧，要 不 会 迟到 的。Dǎ chē qù ba, yào bù huì chídào de.You should take a taxi, otherwise you'll be late.
• 快 说 对不起 吧 ，要 不然 她 要 生气 了 。Kuài shuō duìbuqǐ ba, yào bùrán tā yào shēngqì le.Say sorry, otherwise she's going to be angry.
• 快点 回家 吧，要不 你 爸妈 会 担心 的 。Kuài diǎn huíjiā ba, yào bù nǐ bàmā huì dānxīn de.Hurry and go home, or your parents will start to worry.

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