HSK 4 · Function Words

否则 fǒuzé “otherwise” in Chinese

Traditional 否則

What 否则 means

  1. otherwise
  2. if not
  3. or (else)

How to say 否则

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale否fǒu3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale则zé2nd tone, rising

否则 in a sentence

  1. 快一点，否则你会迟到。

    Kuài yìdiǎn, fǒuzé nǐ huì chídào.

    Hurry up, or you’ll be late.

    Sentence #2887833 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 安静，否则婴儿会醒来。

    Ānjìng, fǒuzé yīng'ér huì xǐnglái.

    Be quiet, or the baby will wake up.

    Sentence #846256 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  3. 除非是你做饭，否则我是不会吃的。

    Chúfēi shì nǐ zuòfàn, fǒuzé wǒ shì bú huì chī de.

    I won’t eat it unless you’re the one cooking.

    Sentence #381410 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 否则 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 否 (fǒu) with each of its parts in a different colour
否fǒuto negate
  • 不no · bùMeaning part
  • 口mouth · kǒuSound part

不 hints at the meaning (no); 口 (kǒu) hints at the sound. Compare it with fǒu.

The character 则 (zé) with each of its parts in a different colour
则zébut; then
  • 贝sea shell · bèi
  • 刂knife form of 刀 · dāo

How to write 否则

否 7 strokes · 则 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

否则 (fǒuzé) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 否则 (fǒuzé). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 否则

Words with 否

是否shìfǒu · whether (or not)否定fǒudìng · to negate否认fǒurèn · to declare to be untrue否决fǒujué · to veto

Words with 则

则zé · then规则guīzé · rule原则yuánzé · principle准则zhǔnzé · principle

More words: Particles & Connectors

对面duìmiàn · (sitting) opposite对于duìyú · regarding而ér · and份fèn · measure word for portions刚gāng · just各gè · each共同gòngtóng · common故意gùyì · deliberately

FAQs

否则 (fǒuzé) means “otherwise” or “if not”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it fǒuzé: fǒu with a 3rd tone, then zé with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 否则 is written 否則. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type fouze with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 否则 from the suggestions. Typing fouze into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
否则 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.