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要么

yào me
HSK 2.0 Level 5 HSK 3.0 Level 6 Conjunction Common

Definitions

  1. 1. or
  2. 2. either one or the other

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Word relationships

Synonyms

1 item
或者
huò zhě

or

both mean 'or', but 要么 is more emphatic and often used in 'either ... or ...' constructions

Usage notes

Common mistakes

要么 often pairs with 要么 for 'either...or...'; don't use 或者 in this structure.

Formality

要么 is more conversational and emphatic than 或者, and is common in spoken Chinese.

Grammar

Guides that feature 要么

Jump into a full guide with fill-in-the-blank drills. Clicking will load the page and move you to the top.

2 guides
HSK 2.0 Level 5+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min
或……，或…… for “Either … Or …” Between Clauses

List two or more possible actions with 或……，或……, the written way to say “either … or …” or “some … , others …”.

Reading: yào me Open guide
HSK 2.0 Level 5+ HSK 3.0 Level 6+ 7 min
Alternatives with 要么...要么

Use 要么...要么 to frame choices, tradeoffs, and decisions at HSK 5.

Reading: yào me Open guide

Example Sentences

1 shown
要么 你去， 要么 我去。
Either you go, or I go.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 要么

要
yāo

(bound form) to demand; to coerce

要
yào

to want; to need; to ask for

么
má

exclamatory final particle

么
ma

interrogative final particle