要么 (yào me) — (conjunction) either…or…; used to present two alternatives; also used alone to suggest an alternative option

Definition

要么 pairs two alternatives (要么…要么…, 'either…or…'), and can also stand alone as 'how about…' to suggest a different option. Compared with 或者, it's more colloquial and emphatic, and it always presents two real choices, not just a list of possibilities.

conjunction
either…or…used to present two alternativesalso used alone to suggest an alternative option

Examples

  • 要么，。
    yào me Nǐ qù, huò zhě wǒ qù.
    Either you go, or I go.
  • 要么，。
    yào me Xiàn zài zuò, bù rán jiù lái bù jí le.
    Either do it now, or it will be too late.
  • ？要么。
    Nǐ bù xǐ huan zhè ge? yào me wǒ men huàn yí gè.
    You don't like this? Or how about we change to another one?

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

要yàooption
么mealternative

要 presents one option, and 么 shows it as an alternative: either this or that.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 麼; 么 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
幺幺yāosmall, tiny
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má麼
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 麼 pairs 麻, which gives the sound, with 幺, which means small/tiny; the simplified 么 is a later shorthand.

Open 么 →

Grammar

Appears in
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