Expressing "either... or..." with "yaome"

When used by itself, 要么 is a not-so-pushy suggestion. But when used for a pair of choices, it gives a much more hardline "either/or" feel: these are the two choices. Choose one. (It can also be used for more than two choices, but it's usually just two.) In this case, 要不 acts exactly like 要么.

Structure

You can give a series of alternatives by using 要么 (yàome). The structure is pretty versatile, as you can put a wide variety of things after each 要么.

It can be used both for commands and non-commands.

要么 + Option A ，要么 + Option B

Examples

• 要么 你 去，要么 他 去 。Yàome nǐ qù, yàome tā qù.Either you go, or he goes.
• 要么 现在 就 买 ，要么 现在 就 走 。Yàome xiànzài jiù mǎi, yàome xiànzài jiù zǒu.Either buy it now, or we get out of here now.
• 你 要么 回 老家 ，要么 留在 上海 。Nǐ yàome huí lǎojiā, yàome liúzài Shànghǎi.You either go back to hometown or stay in Shanghai.
• 要么 看书 ，要么 写 作业 ，不 可以 出去 玩 。Yàome kànshū, yàome xiě zuòyè, bù kěyǐ chūqù wán.You either read or do homework. No playing outside.
• 去年 夏天 ，我 每天 要么 去 健身，要么 去 图书馆，特别 无聊 。Qùnián xiàtiān, wǒ měi tiān yàome qù jiànshēn, yàome qù túshūguǎn, tèbié wúliáo.Last summer I either went to the gym or the library every day. It was so boring.
• 我 老公 周末 要么 睡觉 ，要么 打 游戏 ，从来 不 做 家务 。Wǒ lǎogōng zhōumò yàome shuìjiào, yàome dǎ yóuxì, cónglái bù zuò jiāwù.My husband either sleeps or plays video games on weekends. He never does chores.

See also

• Providing two options with double "huozhe"
• Expressing the only two possibilities

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 158) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 165) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy