How to express “if” in Chinese

Chinese conditional sentences consist of two clauses: the condition, and the consequence.

中文条件句由两部分组成：条件和结果。

Chinese has several expressions related to conditionality, such as "if…then" or "unless". Many of these expressions are translated in English as "if", but the range of Chinese expressions is much larger, and cover more specific situations.

中文里有一些条件性相关的表达，比如“要是… 就…”或“除非”。这些表达很多都可以翻译成英文里的“if”，不过中文表达范围更大，涵盖更多具体的情境。

The most common way to say "if" in Chinese is either with 如果 (rú guó), and 要是 (yào shì). These words are equally common and can be used interchangeably.

中文里表达“if”最常见的方式是含“如果”或“要是”的句子。这两个词一样常见，可以交换使用。

The other words that can be translated as "if" are as follows. These are not usually used in daily life, and will mostly be found in specialized situations and texts:

以下词语同样可以译为“if”。它们一般不用于日常生活中，大部分会在特定场合或文章里看到。

若是 – ruò shì

倘使 – tǎng shǐ

倘若 – tǎng ruò

假若 – jiǎ ruò

假如 – jiǎ rú

假使 – jiǎ shǐ

If … Then

Both 如果 (rú guó), and 要是 (yào shi) are usually paired with 就 (jiù), which precedes the complementary phrase of the sentence, as in the following example:

“如果”和“要是” 一般都与“就”连用，用于句子补足语之前，例子如下：

如果晚上下雨，我就不去看电影｡

rúguǒ wǎnshang xiàyǔ wǒ jiù bú qù kàn diànyǐng.

If it rains this evening, I won't go to the movies.

Note that the 就 (jiù) may not be translated to English, but is usually necessary in Chinese.

注意，“就”或许没有被译成英文，但在中文里通常是必需的。

要是我喝咖啡，我就会睡不着｡

yàoshì wǒ hē kāfēi wǒ huì shuì bù zháo.

If I drink coffee I won't be able to fall asleep.

Only If…

In order to emphasize the conditional "if", we can use the Chinese word 除非 (chú fēi), which translates as "only if…", "only when…" or "only in the case that…".

为了强调“if”的条件，我们可以使用中文词语“除非”，译为“only if …”、“only when …”或“only in the case that …”。

除非 (chú fēi) is used to stress the outcome of an action or inaction, as in the following examples:

“除非”是用于强调行动或不行动的结果，如以下的例子：

除非雨停了，我才会出去。

chúfēi yǔ tíng le, wǒ cái huì chūqù.

I won't go out unless it stops raining. (literally: Only if the rain stops, I will be able to go out.)

除非有钱，要不然我是买不起房子的。

chúfēi yǒu qián, yào bu rán wǒ shì bú huì mǎi fángzi de.

Only if I were rich would I be able to buy the house.

Even If…

A related Chinese expression is used to emphasize that something is exactly what is stated.

这是用于强调某事正好是所阐明的事情。

When used in conjunction with 也 (yě), 就是 (jiù shì) can mean "even if", as in the following example:

当与“也”连同使用时，“就是”可以是“even if”的意思，例子如下：

你就是再聪明，不努力学习，也不会得到好成绩的。

nǐ jiùshì zài cōngmíng, bù nǔlì xuéxí, yěbù huì dédào hǎo chéngjī de.

Even if you are intelligent, if you don't study hard, you will not get good marks.

Just as in the examples with 就 (jiù) when combined with 如果 (rú guó), and 要是（yào shì), 也 (yě) when combined with 就是 (jiù shì) is not necessarily translated into English. Nonetheless, it is an important part of Chinese grammar, and your sentences may sound awkward without these helper words.

如例子里，当“就”与“如果”、“要是”组合的时候，“也”搭配“就是”的话未必译为英文。尽管如此，这还是中文语法里一个重要部分，而且你的语句要是没有这些辅助性字词的话会显得很奇怪。

Translated from: mandarin.about.com

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