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

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*你 先 吃 吧 ,<em>要不</em> 饭 就 凉 了 。<span class="trans">You should eat.</span>
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*你 先 吃 吧 ,<em>要不</em> 饭 就 凉 了 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ xiān chī ba, <em>yào bù</em> fàn jiù Liáng le.</span><span class="trans">You should eat.</span>
*走 吧 ,<em>要不</em> 没 地铁 了 。<span class="trans">Let's go, or we will miss the last metro.</span>
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*走 吧 ,<em>要不</em> 没 地铁 了 。<span class="pinyin">Zǒu ba, <em>yàobù</em> méi dìtiě le.</span><span class="trans">Let's go, or we will miss the last metro.</span>
*打车 去 吧,<em>要不</em> 会 迟到 的。<span class="pinyin">Dǎ ge chē ba, <em>yàobù</em> huì chídào de.</span><span class="trans">You should take a taxi, otherwise you'll be late.</span>
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*打车 去 吧,<em>要不</em> 会 迟到 的。<span class="pinyin">Dǎ chē ba, <em>yào bù</em> huì chídào de.</span><span class="trans">You should take a taxi, otherwise you'll be late.</span>
*快 说 对不起 吧 ,<em>要不</em> 她 要 生气 了 。<span class="pinyin">Kuài shuō ba, <em>yàobù</em> tā yào shēngqì le.</span><span class="trans">Say it, otherwise she's going to be angry.</span>
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*快 说 对不起 吧 ,<em>要不</em> 她 要 生气 了 。<span class="pinyin">Kuài shuō ba, <em>yào bù</em> tā yào shēngqì le.</span><span class="trans">Say it, otherwise she's going to be angry.</span>
*快点 回家 吧,<em>要不</em> 你 爸妈 会 担心 的 。<span class="pinyin">Kuài diǎn huíjiā ba, <em>yàobù</em> nǐ bàmā huì dānxīn de.</span><span class="trans">Hurry and go home, or your parents will start to worry.</span>
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*快点 回家 吧,<em>要不</em> 你 爸妈 会 担心 的 。<span class="pinyin">Kuài diǎn huíjiā ba, <em>yào bù</em> nǐ bàmā huì dānxīn de.</span><span class="trans">Hurry and go home, or your parents will start to worry.</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 04:46, 28 August 2017

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

  • 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?
  • 挺 好吃 的 ,要不 你 尝尝 ?Tǐng hǎochī de, yàobù nǐ? ??It's pretty tasty. How about you also buy some?
  • 这里 太 吵 了 ,要不 我们 换 个 地方 吧 。Zhèlǐ tài chǎo le, yàobù wǒmen huàn gè dìfang bā.It's too loud here. How about we go to somewhere else?
  • 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.
  • 要不 出去 吃 吧 ,我 没 做饭 。Yàobù chūqù chī bā, wǒ méi zuòfàn.How about we go eat out? I didn't cook.
  • 下雨 了,要不 明天 去 吧 。Xiàyǔ le, yàobù míngtiān qù ba.It's raining. How about we go tomorrow?
  • 走路 去 挺 远 的,要不 我 开车 送 你 去 吧 。Zǒulù qù tǐng yuǎn de, yàobù wǒ kāichē sòng nǐ qù ba.It's quite far away to walk there. How about I drive you there?
  • 我 家 不太 好 找,要不 我 去 地铁站 接 你 吧 。Wǒ jiā bù tài hǎo zhǎo, yàobù wǒ qù dìtiězhàn jiē nǐ ba.It's not easy to find my place. How about I pick you up at the metro station?

Multiple Meanings

要不 (yàobù) also be used to offer "either/or" choices to others, similar to 要么. But in this sense, 要么 is more used than 要不 in colloquial Chinese.

要不 (yàobù) can also be used to mean "otherwise”, a shortened form of 要不然. 要么 can never be used in this way.

Statement, 要不(然) + Result

Examples

  • 你 先 吃 吧 ,要不 饭 就 凉 了 。Nǐ xiān chī ba, yào bù fàn jiù Liáng le.You should eat.
  • 走 吧 ,要不 没 地铁 了 。Zǒu ba, yàobù méi dìtiě le.Let's go, or we will miss the last metro.
  • 打车 去 吧,要不 会 迟到 的。Dǎ chē qù ba, yào bù huì chídào de.You should take a taxi, otherwise you'll be late.
  • 快 说 对不起 吧 ,要不 她 要 生气 了 。Kuài shuō ba, yào bù tā yào shēngqì le.Say it, otherwise she's going to be angry.
  • 快点 回家 吧,要不 你 爸妈 会 担心 的 。Kuài diǎn huíjiā ba, yào bù nǐ bàmā huì dānxīn de.Hurry and go home, or your parents will start to worry.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books