要不是

要
不
是
if it were not for / but for

Characters and words in 要不是

要
ya̅o = y + ao1
to demand / to request / to coerce
要
yào = y + ao4
important / vital / to want / to ask for / will / going to (as future auxiliary) / may / must / (used in a comparison) must be / probably / if
要 = 女 + 覀 : Bessie Coleman shows Maud Younger how to use a knuckle duster in the aorta's bathroom. She says it's very important and that Maud will have to get one herself.
要
ya̅o = y + ao1
(bound form) to demand; to coerce
要
yào = y + ao4
to want; to need; to ask for / will; shall; about to / need to; should / if (same as 要是[yao4 shi5]) / (bound form) important
要
不
otherwise / or else / how about...? / either... (or...)
不
bù = bu + Ø4
no; not so / (bound form) not; un-
不 = 丆 + 卜 : Bruno Bear (bu) is setting up a wind wheel (丆) with a voodoo staff (卜) in the space station's bathroom (Ø4). He also puts a "forbidden" sign (mnemonic symbol for 不) on it, to make clear that it may not (不) be stopped.
不
是
fault / blame
不
是
no / is not / not
是
昰
shì = sh + Ø4
variant of 是[shi4] / (used in given names)
是
shì = sh + Ø4
to be (followed by substantives only) / correct; right; true / (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well / (adverb for emphatic assertion)
是 = 旦 + 龰 : Mnemonic symbol: a skull, from "to be or not to be".

Sherlock Holmes (sh) starts his day in the space station's bathroom (Ø4) with a mug of coffee (旦). Holding a skull (mnemonic symbol for 是) in his hands, he asks himself "to be, or not to be" (是). He wonders if he can make the skull come back to life using lots of coffee, and injects coffee from his mug into the skull using a syringe (龰).
是 = 日 + 下 + 人 : Mnemonic symbol: a skull, from "to be or not to be".

Sherlock Holmes (sh) watches the Neanderthal Man (人) trying to climb to the sun (日) on a ladder (下) in the space station's bathroom (Ø4). Sherlock is afraid that he'll open the window, so he puts on a big skull (是) and scares him off.

Words with 要不是

要不是 is not used as a component in another word.

Sentences with 要不是

要不是 currently does not appear in any sentence.