---
title: "Yaoburan Meaning: 要不然 (yàobùrán) Means “otherwise”"
description: "要不然 (yàobùrán) means “otherwise; or else”. Hear its tones and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yaoburan"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# What does 要不然 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

要不然 yàobùrán

## otherwise; or else

## Its characters

1. 然 rán right

## In a sentence

多穿点衣服，要不然会感冒。 Put on more clothes, otherwise you'll catch a cold.

[More about 要不然](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%A6%81%E4%B8%8D%E7%84%B6)

## More words with 要 or 不 or 然

- [必不可少 bìbùkěshǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bibukeshao)
- [必然 bìrán](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/biran)
- [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)

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