如果/要是/假如…就… (If…Then…) | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

The paired conditional 如果…就… is the workhorse of Chinese "if…then…" sentences, and it rests on two facts that surprise English speakers. First, the word that means "then" is not at the start of the result clause the way English "then" is — it is 就 (jiù), an adverb that sits inside the result clause, right before the verb. Second, and more importantly, the hypothetical is never marked on the verb. There is no subjunctive, no conditional tense, no "would." 如果明天下雨 is literally "if tomorrow fall-rain" — the verb is identical to a plain statement. Once you stop hunting for a way to conjugate the condition, the whole pattern becomes mechanical.

The two halves: 如果 opens, 就 answers

The skeleton is 如果 + [condition]，(subject) + 就 + [result]. The 如果 flags the clause as hypothetical; the 就 in the second clause signals "in that case, naturally." Because 就 is an adverb, it comes after the subject of the result clause and immediately before the verb — never before the subject.

如果明天下雨，我就不去了。

rúguǒ míngtiān xià yǔ, wǒ jiù bú qù le

If it rains tomorrow, I won't go.

如果有问题，就给我打电话。

rúguǒ yǒu wèntí, jiù gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà

If there's a problem, just call me.

如果你不喜欢，我们就换一个。

rúguǒ nǐ bù xǐhuan, wǒmen jiù huàn yí ge

If you don't like it, we'll swap it for another one.

Notice that the verbs — 下雨, 有, 换 — carry no special hypothetical form. This holds even for counterfactuals ("if I were you," "if you had told me"), where English forces "were" / "had told" / "would have." Chinese leaves the verbs bare and lets context supply the unreality.

假如我是你，我就不会答应。

jiǎrú wǒ shì nǐ, wǒ jiù bú huì dāying

If I were you, I wouldn't agree. (formal)

如果你早点儿告诉我，我就帮你了。

rúguǒ nǐ zǎo diǎnr gàosu wǒ, wǒ jiù bāng nǐ le

If you'd told me earlier, I would have helped you.

💡

Reach for 就, not a verb ending, to mark "then." English piles the hypothetical onto the verb ("would," "were"); Chinese keeps the verb plain and answers the condition with 就 in the second clause. If you find yourself wanting to "conjugate the if," stop — there is nothing to conjugate.

如果 vs 要是 vs 假如 — same job, different register

Three words all translate as "if," and they are interchangeable in meaning. What separates them is register, which is why the choice matters for sounding natural.

Connector	Pinyin	Register	Feel
如果	rúguǒ	neutral	the safe default — fits speech and writing alike
要是	yàoshi	informal	casual, conversational; very common when speaking
假如	jiǎrú	formal / literary	written hypotheticals, "supposing that…"
假设	jiǎshè	academic	"assume/suppose," used in maths and argument
倘若	tǎngruò	literary (archaic-leaning)	elevated prose; rare in speech

要是你累了，就早点儿休息吧。

yàoshi nǐ lèi le, jiù zǎo diǎnr xiūxi ba

If you're tired, get some rest early. (informal)

明天要是天气好，我们就去爬山。

míngtiān yàoshi tiānqì hǎo, wǒmen jiù qù pá shān

If the weather's nice tomorrow, we'll go hiking. (informal)

The condition word can also sit after the subject: 明天要是天气好 and 要是明天天气好 are both fine. And a colloquial tag …的话 can clip onto the end of the if-clause, often together with 如果 — see the …的话 conditional tag.

When 就 can be dropped

The paired 就 is expected in ordinary declarative results, and leaving it out makes the sentence feel unfinished. There are two honest exceptions: a bare imperative result and an existential "there is" result often stand without 就.

你要是饿了，冰箱里有吃的。

nǐ yàoshi è le, bīngxiāng li yǒu chī de

If you're hungry, there's something to eat in the fridge.

如果不舒服，就早点儿回家。

rúguǒ bù shūfu, jiù zǎo diǎnr huí jiā

If you don't feel well, go home early.

Even here, keeping 就 is never wrong. The safe habit for a learner is to always supply it and only later notice where natives relax it.

Common Mistakes

1. Dropping 就 in a normal result clause. English "then" is optional, so learners omit its Chinese counterpart — but a plain declarative result sounds incomplete without 就.

❌ 如果明天下雨，我不去。

Incomplete — a declarative result wants the paired 就: 如果明天下雨，我就不去。

✅ 如果明天下雨，我就不去。

rúguǒ míngtiān xià yǔ, wǒ jiù bú qù

If it rains tomorrow, I won't go.

2. Putting 就 before the subject. 就 is an adverb; it follows the subject of the result clause and precedes the verb.

❌ 如果你来，就你告诉我。

Wrong order — 就 comes after the subject: 你就告诉我。

✅ 如果你来，你就告诉我。

rúguǒ nǐ lái, nǐ jiù gàosu wǒ

If you come, tell me.

3. Trying to mark the hypothetical on the verb. There is no subjunctive; don't add 了 or 会 to signal "would/were."

❌ 如果我是了你，我就不去。

Incorrect — the verb stays bare; no 了 to mark 'if I were': 如果我是你。

✅ 如果我是你，我就不去。

rúguǒ wǒ shì nǐ, wǒ jiù bú qù

If I were you, I wouldn't go.

4. Using 二 instead of 两 in the result. For "two" before a measure word it is always 两, never 二.

❌ 如果不够，我就再买二个。

Incorrect — before a measure word 'two' is 两: 再买两个。

✅ 如果不够，我就再买两个。

rúguǒ bú gòu, wǒ jiù zài mǎi liǎng ge

If it's not enough, I'll buy two more.

Key Takeaways

The pattern is 如果 + condition，subject + 就 + result; 就 (not a verb ending) carries "then."
如果 is neutral, 要是 informal, 假如 formal — same meaning, different register.
The verb is never marked for the hypothetical: no subjunctive, no tense change, even for counterfactuals.
就 sits after the subject of the result clause and before the verb.
就 can be dropped only with bare imperatives or existential "there is" results; keep it everywhere else.
For the mirror patterns that pin down sufficient vs necessary conditions, see 只要…就 and 只有…才.

Now practice Chinese

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Chinese→