不然

bùrán
conjunction HSK 4 #1,109

Meanings

  1. 1 otherwise
  2. 2 or else
  3. 3 if not

Examples

Kuài zǒu ba, bùrán yào chídào le.
Let's go quickly, otherwise we'll be late.
Nǐ yào hǎohao xuéxí, bùrán kǎoshì huì bù jígé.
You need to study hard, or else you'll fail the exam.
Dài jiàn wàitào, bùrán huì lěng.
Bring a jacket, otherwise you'll be cold.

Tips

usage
不然 is used after a suggestion or warning to state the consequence. It's similar to 要不然 (yàobùrán), which is slightly more colloquial.

Stroke Order

rán