Breakdown of yàobù míngtiān chī huǒguō? hǎozhǔyi!
吃chī
to eat
明天míngtiān
tomorrow
火锅huǒguō
hot pot
要不yàobù
how about...?
Questions & Answers about yàobù míngtiān chī huǒguō? hǎozhǔyi!
What does 要不 mean here?
Here, 要不 means something like How about... ?, Why don't we... ?, or What if we... ?
In this sentence, 要不明天吃火锅？ is a casual way to make a suggestion.
A very useful thing to know is that 要不 can have another meaning in other contexts: otherwise / if not. So its meaning depends on the sentence.
In this line, it is clearly the making-a-suggestion use.
Is 要不 the same as 要不要?
No, they are different.
For example:
- 要不明天吃火锅？ = How about eating hotpot tomorrow?
- 明天要不要吃火锅？ = Do you want to eat hotpot tomorrow?
The second one asks more directly about someone’s preference. The first one sounds more like a suggestion.
Why is there no subject like 我, 你, or 我们?