要不 — otherwise

要不

yàobù

otherwise; or maybe

conjunction · HSK 5 · topic “Linking ideas”

How to pronounce it

要不 is read yào bù: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

yào — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

bù — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

How to write it

要

yào — want; need

Below, 女 “woman”.

不

bù — not, no

Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “要不”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 要不. Tap the sound icon to listen.

月饼还剩两个，你要不要？yuèbingháishèngliǎngge,nǐyàobuyàoThere are two mooncakes left, do you want them?
我们要不断改进技术wǒmenyàobúduàngǎijìnjìshùWe need to keep improving our technology.
要不是你提醒我我就忘了yàobúshìnǐtíxǐngwǒ,wǒjiùwàngleIf you hadn't reminded me, I'd have forgotten.
要不我们打车去吧yàobùwǒmendǎchēqùbaOr maybe we take a taxi?
我们要不要换一个方案？wǒmenyàobuyàohuànyígefāng’ànShould we switch to a different plan?
菜够吗？要不要再添一样？càigòuma,yàobuyàozàitiānyíyàngIs there enough food? Should we order one more dish?

More words from the lesson “What if”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

What does 要不 mean?

要不 (yàobù) means “otherwise; or maybe”.

How do you write 要不?

要不 is 2 characters: 要 (yào) — want; need; 不 (bù) — not, no. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 要不?

要不 is read yàobù. Tones: yào — fourth tone, bù — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“otherwise” in the lesson “What if”

This word is from the topic “Linking ideas” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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