要么A要么B
Use this when you want to present two (or more) mutually exclusive options — 'either A or B, no middle ground.' Stronger than English 'either/or' because in Chinese this construction often implies the speaker is impatient with the situation and wants a clear pick. Common in arguments, ultimatums, business decisions, and any moment when you're forcing the listener to choose. Each option gets its own 要么 in front of it.
Structure
要么 [OPTION A], 要么 [OPTION B]
yàome... yàome...
How to Think About It
要么 marks 'one of the alternatives' — and both halves need it. Where English 'either' shows up only once ('either A or B'), Chinese repeats 要么 in front of each option. The repetition is what creates the forced-choice tone. You can extend to three or more options: 要么A, 要么B, 要么C — still mutually exclusive.
Examples
你要么留下, 要么走。
Nǐ yàome liú xià, yàome zǒu.
Either you stay or you leave.
我们要么坐火车, 要么坐飞机。
Wǒmen yàome zuò huǒchē, yàome zuò fēijī.
We either take the train or take the plane.
她周末要么在家看书, 要么去公园跑步。
Tā zhōumò yàome zài jiā kàn shū, yàome qù gōngyuán pǎobù.
On weekends she either reads at home or goes running in the park.
Common Mistake
Learners use 或者 in the second slot, mirroring English 'either...or.' But 或者 is a neutral 'or' for listing possibilities; 要么 specifically marks 'one OR the other, pick.' Mixing them weakens the forced-choice feel — or worse, sounds wrong.
要么去北京, 或者去上海。
要么去北京, 要么去上海。
Don't Confuse With
或者
Neutral 'or' for listing possibilities ('coffee or tea?'). 要么...要么... forces a choice; 或者 just enumerates.
不是A就是B
'It must be A or B' — strong inference. Use when you're concluding which one it MUST be, not asking someone to choose.
是A还是B
Question form: 'is it A or B?' Use when asking. 要么...要么... is for declaring options the listener must pick between.
Practice
____ 同意, 要么反对。
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要么
要么早点睡, 要 ____ 喝杯咖啡。
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么
Arrange: 要么 / 你 / 走路 / 要么 / 打车 / ,
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你要么走路, 要么打车。
Translate: Either we eat now or we eat later.
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我们要么现在吃, 要么晚点吃。
Give yourself a forced choice for tonight using 要么...要么...
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今晚我要么写作业, 要么早点睡觉。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: