要不是

yào bu shì

HSK 3.0 Level 5 Conjunction Rare

Definitions

1. if it were not for
2. but for

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 幸亏 xìng kuī 幸亏 xìng kuī fortunately 表示庆幸，与假设的不利条件相对: fortunately

Usage notes

Collocations

常与“就”或“才”搭配使用，形成“要不是...就...”或“要不是...才...”结构，表示若非某个条件，就会出现或才出现某种结果。

Common mistakes

“要不是”已经包含“如果...不”的意思，后面不能再用否定词，如不能说“要不是没带伞”，应改为“要不是带了伞”表示肯定假设。

Example Sentences

1 shown

要不是 你帮忙，我就迷路了。

If it weren't for your help, I would have gotten lost.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 要不是

• 不 不 bù: no; not so
• 是 是 shì: to be (followed by substantives only)
• 要 要 yāo: (bound form) to demand; to coerce
• 要 要 yào: to want; to need; to ask for
• 要不 要不 yào bù: otherwise
• 不是 不是 bú shi: fault
• 不是 不是 bù shì: no