否则 meaning in English

fǒuzé

otherwise; if not; or (else)

HSK 4conjunctionTraditional 否則13 strokes

Meaning of 否则

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

fǒuzé

otherwise; if not; or (else)

How to use 否则

否则 links two clauses. The first gives an action or condition, and the second, starting with 否则, says what happens if it is not met. Example: 快点走，否则我们会迟到。(Kuài diǎn zǒu, fǒuzé wǒmen huì chídào.) Hurry up, otherwise we will be late.

否 (fǒu) means "not, no", as in 是否 (shìfǒu, whether or not), and 则 (zé) means "then". Put them together and you get "if not, then...", which is exactly what "otherwise" means.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes put 否则 at the very start of a sentence with no condition before it. It needs a preceding clause, just like "otherwise" in English. Also watch the tone: 否 is third tone (fǒu), not fōu or fóu.

否则 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

快kuài点diǎn，否fǒu则zé你nǐ会huì错cuò过guò公gōng车chē。

Hurry up, or you'll miss the bus.

除chú非fēi你nǐ去qù做zuò，否fǒu则zé你nǐ永yǒng远yuǎn不bù知zhī道dào。

You'll never know unless you try.

立lì刻kè起qǐ床chuáng, 否fǒu则zé你nǐ上shàng学xué会huì迟chí到dào。

Get up at once, or you will be late for school.

除chú非fēi是shì你nǐ做zuò饭fàn，否fǒu则zé我wǒ是shì不bú会huì吃chī的de。

I won't eat it unless you cooked it.

快kuài一yì点diǎn，否fǒu则zé你nǐ会huì迟chí到dào。

Hurry up or you'll be late.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

否 fǒu · no · 7 strokes

则 zé · but · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 否则.

否认	fǒurèn	to declare to be untrue; to deny
否定	fǒudìng	to negate; to deny
是否	shìfǒu	whether (or not); if
规则	guīzé	rule; regulation; regular; orderly; fixed
原则	yuánzé	principle; doctrine
能否	néngfǒu	whether one can; whether it is possible
与否	yǔ fǒu	whether or not (at the end of a phrase)
否决	fǒujué	to veto; to overrule
准则	zhǔnzé	norm; standard
以身作则	yǐshēn-zuòzé	to set an example (idiom); to serve as a model
可否	kěfǒu	is it possible or not?
法则	fǎzé	law; rule

Questions about 否则

What does 否则 mean?

否则 (fǒuzé) means "otherwise; if not; or (else)" and is used as a conjunction.

How do you write 否则?

否则 is made of 2 characters: 否 (7 strokes), 则 (6 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.

Is 否则 an HSK word?

Yes. 否则 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 否则 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 否则 is written 否則.

What is the difference between 否则 and 要不然?

They mean the same thing. 要不然 (yàobùrán), often shortened to 要不, is more casual and common in speech. 否则 sounds a bit more formal and appears often in writing.

Can I use 就 or 会 after 否则?

Yes. The clause after 否则 often contains 会 (huì) or 就 (jiù) to show the result, for example 否则你就会后悔 (fǒuzé nǐ jiù huì hòuhuǐ), otherwise you will regret it. This makes the consequence sound natural and clear.