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?
• 下雨 了，要不 明天 再 去 吧 。Xià yǔ le, yàobù jīntiān bié qù le.It's raining. How about we go tomorrow?
• 要不 今晚 出去 吃 吧 ，我妈 不知道 你 会 来 ，没 做饭 。We have a blackout of water supply at home. How about we go eat out tonight?
• 走路 去 挺 远 的，要不 我 开车 送 你 去 吧 。Zǒulù guò tǐng yuǎn de, yàobù wǒ kāichē sòng nǐ qù ba.It's quite far away to walk there. How about I drive you there?
• 要不 我们 去 逛街 吧，比 在家 看 电视 有 意思 。Yàobù wǒmen qù guàngjiē ba, bǐ zàijiā kàn diànshì yǒu yìsi.Let's go shopping. It's more fun than watching TV at home.

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