Difference between revisions of "Expressing "how about" with "yaobu""

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要不 (yào bù) can have a number of meanings depending on how it is used.  
 
要不 (yào bù) can have a number of meanings depending on how it is used.  
  
==要不 as 或者==
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==要不 as to mark possible choices==
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 +
要不 can be used to offer "either/or" choices to others, similar to 或者.
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<div class="liju">   
 
<div class="liju">   
* 你 <em>要不</em> 看书 <em>要不</em> 去 睡觉
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* 你 <em>要不</em> 看书 <em>要不</em> 去 睡觉
 
</div>
 
</div>
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Another word that can be used in a similar pattern is 要么, with the difference that 要么 can only be used to list the either/or choices available to oneself as well as the choices available to others.
  
 
==要不 used for suggestions==  
 
==要不 used for suggestions==  

Revision as of 09:23, 10 July 2012

要不 (yào bù) can have a number of meanings depending on how it is used.

要不 as to mark possible choices

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

  • 要不 看书 要不 去 睡觉 。

Another word that can be used in a similar pattern is 要么, with the difference that 要么 can only be used to list the either/or choices available to oneself as well as the choices available to others.

要不 used for suggestions

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.

  • 要不 我们 一起 去 吧。
  • 要不 咱们 今晚 吃 湘菜。

要不 as 否则

要不 can also be used to mean otherwise:

  • 你 快点 打电话 给 他,要不 他会 很 担心。
  • 我 要 打的 要不 我会迟到。

要不然 can be used interchangably with 要不 when it is used as 否则.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books