何不 (hé bù) — (literary) why not (used to suggest or question)

Definition

何不 (hé bù) is a formal literary adverb meaning 'why not', used to introduce a rhetorical suggestion or reproach. It carries a slightly more classical tone than 为什么不, and is common in written Chinese, news commentary, and formal speech. The structure is simply ∼ + verb phrase, with an implicit 'you' or 'one' subject.

adv.

(literary) why not (used to suggest or question)

Examples

，何不？
Jìrán yǒu shíjiān, hé bù qù túshūguǎn kànkan?
Since you have time, why not go check out the library?
何不？
hé bù huàn yì zhǒng fāngfǎ shì yī shì?
Why not try a different method?
何不？
hé bù zǎo zuò zhǔnbèi?
Why not prepare early?

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