要不 (yàobù)

In Chinese, "要不" is a conjunction that is commonly used to express a conditional choice or suggestion. It is often translated to "otherwise" or "or else" in English.

Basic Usage

Here are some common usages of "要不":

• To present a conditional choice: For example: 要不下次我们去看电影吧，要不去吃饭。(yàobù xià cì wǒmen qù kàn diànyǐng ba, yàobù qù chīfàn.) - Next time, let's either go watch a movie or go eat.
• To suggest an alternative: For example: 这件衬衫太贵了，要不买另一件吧。(zhè jiàn chènshān tài guìle, yàobù mǎi lìng yī jiàn ba.) - This shirt is too expensive, let's buy another one instead.

Examples

Here are some example sentences containing "要不":

• 要不是你，我早就迷路了。(yàobù shì nǐ, wǒ zǎo jiù mílùle.) - If it weren't for you, I would have been lost long ago.
• 要不是下雨，我们本来会去公园的。(yàobù shì xià yǔ, wǒmen běnlái huì qù gōngyuán de.) - If it hadn't been raining, we would have gone to the park.