HSK 4 Connectors & compound sentences
否则
Otherwise with 否则
Structure (do / be X),否则 + bad consequence
否则 (fǒuzé) means "otherwise, or else" and warns of what will happen if the first part isn’t met: 快走,否则要迟到了 = "hurry up, or we’ll be late". It goes at the start of the second clause. In casual speech 要不然 or 不然 is more common.
Examples
- 快走,否则要迟到了。
Hurry, or we’ll be late.
- 多穿点儿,否则会感冒。
Dress warmly, or you’ll catch a cold.
- 你要努力,否则会失败。
You have to try hard, or you’ll fail.
Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.