要么…要么…: either… or…
复句 / complex sentences
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
要么…要么… gives an exclusive alternative: you must pick one of the two, there's no third option, "either… or…".
Versus 或者: 或者 offers open options ("or"); 要么…要么 closes the choice and often sounds categorical, even like an ultimatum. Related: 不是…就是… ("if not A then B", describing a fact).
Examples
毕业以后，要么考研，要么直接工作，你得决定。
Bìyè yǐhòu, yàome kǎo yán, yàome zhíjiē gōngzuò, nǐ děi juédìng.After graduating, either you sit the master's exam or you go straight to work: you have to decide.
要么你来，要么我去，总之今天得见一面。
Yàome nǐ lái, yàome wǒ qù, zǒngzhī jīntiān děi jiàn yí miàn.Either you come or I go: one way or another we need to meet today.
周末他不是在图书馆，就是在补习班。
Zhōumò tā bú shì zài túshūguǎn, jiù shì zài bǔxíbān.At weekends he's either at the library or at cram school.
Common mistakes
✗ 要么 in a question: ✗ 你要么喝茶要么喝咖啡？→ for questions use ✓ 你喝茶还是喝咖啡？
✗ A single 要么: the pattern is parallel ✓ 要么…要么….