不然

bù rán

HSK 2.0 Level 5 HSK 3.0 Level 5 Conjunction Common

Definitions

1. not so
2. no
3. or else
4. otherwise
5. if not
6. How about ...?

Word relationships

Register variants

1 item

• 要不 yào bù 要不 yào bù otherwise 要不 is more colloquial; both can mean 'otherwise' or 'or else': otherwise

Related words

2 items

• 那么 nà me 那么 nà me like that 不然 can introduce a suggestion (How about...), similar to 那么: like that
• 如果 rú guǒ 如果 rú guǒ if 不然 is used in conditional structures; if not, then...: if

Synonyms

1 item

• 否则 fǒu zé 否则 fǒu zé otherwise; if not; or (else) when used as a conjunction meaning 'otherwise' or 'or else': otherwise; if not; or (else)

Usage notes

Formality

不然 is neutral and common in both spoken and written Chinese, while 否则 is slightly more formal and often used in warnings or formal conditionals.

Example Sentences

3 shown

快走吧， 不然 要迟到了。

Hurry up, otherwise we’ll be late.

不然 呢！

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 13111630)

快點， 不然 上學會遲到。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 13498371)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 不然

• 要不然 要不然 yào bù rán: otherwise
• 莫不然 莫不然 mò bù rán: equally true for (all the rest)

Child Words of 不然

• 不 不 bù: no; not so
• 然 然 rán: correct