爱理不理, 爱听不听: take it or leave it (爱A不A)
【高60】四字格 / phrases
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
爱 + V + 不 + V repeats the same verb to say “do it or don't, I don't care”: 你爱听不听, 爱去不去. The speaker is indifferent to what the other person will decide, or throws it down as a challenge: “take it or leave it”, “believe it or not”. The verb is repeated alone, with no object inside the pattern: 爱吃不吃, never 爱吃饭不吃饭.
It works in two ways. As a whole clause it voices the speaker's own indifference or defiance: 这是我的想法，你爱听不听。 As a modifier before 的 it describes someone's attitude: 一副爱理不理的样子 (“a couldn't-care-less air”). 爱理不理 (variant 爱搭不理) has become an expression of its own: to answer half-heartedly, to act as if the other person were not there.
Register: very familiar and blunt. Among friends or at home it passes, often with some temper; with a teacher, a boss or a customer it is insolent. It is not the A-not-A question 你爱不爱听? (hsk1-g28), which asks whether you like listening, and it is sharper than 无所谓 (hsk7-g62), which just says “it makes no difference” without challenging anyone.
Examples
爱去不去，我们先走了。
Ài qù bú qù, wǒmen xiān zǒu le.Come or don't, we're going on ahead.
这是我的想法，你爱听不听。
Zhè shì wǒ de xiǎngfǎ, nǐ ài tīng bù tīng.That's my idea: take it or leave it.
你爱信不信，反正我说的都是实话。
Nǐ ài xìn bù xìn, fǎnzhèng wǒ shuō de dōu shì shíhuà.Believe it or not, I'm telling the truth anyway.
这是我做的菜，你们爱吃不吃，我可不勉强。
Zhè shì wǒ zuò de cài, nǐmen ài chī bù chī, wǒ kě bù miǎnqiǎng.I made this dish myself: eat it or not, I won't force you.
他瞧不起她，对她总是一副爱理不理的样子。
Tā qiáobuqǐ tā, duì tā zǒngshì yí fù ài lǐ bù lǐ de yàngzi.He looks down on her and always treats her with an air of total indifference.
他这个人就这样，高兴了跟你聊两句，不高兴了就爱理不理的。
Tā zhège rén jiù zhèyàng, gāoxìng le gēn nǐ liáo liǎng jù, bù gāoxìng le jiù ài lǐ bù lǐ de.That's just how he is: in a good mood he'll chat for a minute, otherwise he barely acknowledges you.
Common mistakes
✗ 爱吃饭不吃饭 → ✓ 爱吃不吃 (the pattern repeats the bare verb, with no object inside).
✗ 爱听没听 → ✓ 爱听不听 (it is always 不, never 没: it speaks of a wish, not of a completed fact).
✗ 老师，这是我的想法，您爱听不听。 → insolent: never say it to a teacher or a superior.