Dictionary › 要不是

要不是

yào bu shì

HSK 3.0 level 5 3-character word

要不是 (yào bu shì) means "if it were not for; but for". It is an HSK 3.0 level 5 word, and was not on the old six-level HSK list.

What 要不是 means

1. if it were not for
2. but for

The characters in 要不是

• 要yàoto want; to need; to ask for; will; shall; about to; need to; should
• 不bùno; not so; (bound form) not; un-
• 是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true…

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read yào bu shì correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.