如果⋯⋯的话

rú guǒ …… de huà

Expressing "if" with "ruguo… dehua"

的话 closes the if-clause and makes the condition sound more tentative.

如果 + Condition + 的话,(就) ⋯⋯

How it works

如果明天下雨的话,我们就不去了. The 的话 is optional, and adds a note of "supposing that".

如果 itself can be dropped once 的话 is there: 明天下雨的话,我们就不去了.

要是 is the more colloquial substitute for 如果 and works in all the same shapes.

Examples

  • rú guǒ míng tiān xià yǔ de huà, wǒ men jiù bú qù le

    如果明天下雨的话,我们就不去了。

    If it happens to rain tomorrow, we won't go.

  • yǒu wèn tí de huà, kě yǐ wèn wǒ

    有问题的话,可以问我。

    If you have any questions, you can ask me.

  • yào shi nǐ bù xiǎng qù, jiù bié qù

    要是你不想去,就别去。

    If you don't want to go, then don't.