---
title: "Yaobu Meaning: 要不 (yàobù) Means “how about …?”"
description: "要不 (yàobù) means “how about …? (making a suggestion)”. Hear its tones, see what 要 and 不 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yaobu"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 要不 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

要不 yàobù

## how about …? (making a suggestion)

## It can also mean

- otherwise; or else
- either … or … (要不 A，要不 B)

## Its characters

1. 要 yào to want
2. 不 bù not

## In a sentence

快走吧，要不就迟到了。 Let's hurry, or else we'll be late.

[More about 要不](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%A6%81%E4%B8%8D)

## More words with 要 or 不

- [必不可少 bìbùkěshǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bibukeshao)
- [必要 bìyào](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/biyao)
- [不安 bù’ān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buan)
- [不必 bùbì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubi)
- [不便 bùbiàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubian)
- [不曾 bùcéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buceng)
- [不成 bùchéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucheng)
- [不错 bùcuò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucuo)
- [不但 bùdàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budan)
- [不当 bùdàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budang)

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