Writing
不然 (bù rán) — how to say "otherwise" in Chinese
不然
Otherwise, or else
conjunction · adjective
1. otherwise; or elseHSK 3.0 · level 5
conjunction
2. not so; not the caseHSK 3.0 · level 7-9
adjective
Character composition
不
not
然
so
Radicals / Keys
火
Fire
#86 · huǒ · 4 strokes
一
One
#1 · yī · 1 stroke
Synonyms
否则
otherwise
fǒuzé · formal, written
要不
otherwise; or else; how about...; maybe
yào bù · colloquial, warning
要不然
otherwise, or else
yào bù rán · colloquial, in speech
Collocations
不然的话
bù rán de huà
otherwise
Examples
你应该多穿点衣服，不然这么冷的天气很容易感冒。
You should wear more clothes, otherwise it's easy to catch a cold in such cold weather.
快走，不然迟到了。
Hurry up, or you'll be late.
Frequently asked questions
Otherwise meaning in Chinese
"otherwise" in Chinese is 不然 (bù rán).
不然 meaning in English
不然 (bù rán) means "Otherwise, or else".
How is 不然 pronounced?
It is pronounced bù rán (written as bu ran, buran). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "otherwise" in Chinese characters?
It is written 不然: 不 has 4 strokes, 然 has 12 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 不然?
不然 belongs to the HSK 5 vocabulary list.
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