要不然

yàobùrán

conjunction HSK 6 #4,448

Meanings

1 otherwise; or else
2 how about; what if (suggesting an alternative)

Characters

If not so — otherwise, or else.

Examples

快点走，要不然就迟到了。

Kuài diǎn zǒu, yàoburán jiù chídào le.

Hurry up, otherwise we'll be late.

我们去吃火锅吧，要不然吃烧烤？

Wǒmen qù chī huǒguō ba, yàoburán chī shāokǎo?

Let's go eat hotpot, or how about BBQ?

幸好带了伞，要不然就淋湿了。

Xìnghǎo dài le sǎn, yàoburán jiù lín shī le.

Good thing I brought an umbrella, otherwise I would have gotten soaked.

Tips

usage

要不然 = 否则 (fǒuzé, formal 'otherwise') = 不然 (bùrán, shorter form). 要不然 is the most colloquial. It can also be used to suggest alternatives: 要不然我们... (how about we...).

Stroke Order

要 yào

不 bù

然 rán