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

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

要不我们一起去吧，一个人去没意思。Yàobù wǒmen yīqǐ qù ba, yīgèrén qù méi yìsi.How about we go together? It's no fun to go by myself.
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?
太远了，要不我开车送你去吧。Tài yuǎn le,yàobù wǒ kāichē sòng nǐ qù ba.It's too far. 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.
打车吧，要不会迟到的。Dǎchē ba, yào bù huì chídào de.You should take a taxi, otherwise you'll be late.
好好复习吧，要不然 又考不过。Hǎohǎo fùxí ba, yào bùrán yòu kǎo bu guò.Review well, otherwise you're going to fail the exam again.
快回家吧，要不你爸妈会担心的。Kuài huíjiā ba, yào bù nǐ bà mā huì dānxīn de.Hurry up. Go home, or your parents will start to worry.

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