Expressing "how about" with "yaobu"

Level

B1 / HSK5
Level

B1
Level

HSK5
Similar to
Similar to
- Expressing "either... or..." with "yaome" (HSK0)
- Expressing good luck with "haihao" (HSK0)
- Suggestions with "ba" (HSK1)
- Expressing "or" in statements (HSK3)
- Expressing "had better" with "haishi" (HSK4)
- Expressing "unless" with "chufei" (HSK4)
- Providing two options with double "huozhe" (HSK5)
Used for

Indicating cause and effect, Giving alternatives
Keywords

吧, 要不

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

要不 as to mark possible choices

Structure

要不 can be used to offer "either/or" choices to others, similar to “要么”，但是“要么”既可以用于表示建议，也可以用于陈述过去发生的事情。“要不”只能表示建议，用于将来的情况。

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.

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. "要么" is similar here. 但是“要不”引导的小句既可以放在前面，也可以放在后面，“要么”引导的小句只能放在后面，作为第二小句。

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

要不 can also be used to mean otherwise:

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 as 否则.

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