chúfēi péngyou mǎidān, fǒuzé wǒmen píngtān.

Unless my friend pays the bill, we will split the cost evenly.

Breakdown of chúfēi péngyou mǎidān, fǒuzé wǒmen píngtān.

• 我们wǒmen: we
• 朋友péngyou: friend
• 平摊píngtān: to split the cost evenly

Questions & Answers about chúfēi péngyou mǎidān, fǒuzé wǒmen píngtān.

What does 除非……否则…… mean in this sentence?

除非……否则…… is a very common pattern meaning unless ..., otherwise ....

So:

• 除非朋友买单 = unless a friend pays the bill
• 否则我们平摊 = otherwise, we split it

It sets up a condition:

• if the condition in 除非 happens, the result in 否则 does not happen
• if the condition does not happen, then the 否则 part happens

A very natural English translation is:

Unless a friend picks up the tab, we’ll split the cost.

Why is there no word for if in the 除非 part?

In Mandarin, 除非 already contains the idea of unless by itself, so you do not need a separate word for if.

Compare:

• English: Unless a friend pays, ...
• Chinese: 除非朋友买单，...

So 除非 is not just a simple vocabulary word; it introduces a whole condition.

Is 否则 required here, or can it be omitted?