Formal "If / Supposing": 倘若 / 假若 / 假使

Pattern

• 倘若 / 假若 / 假使 + Condition，（那么 / 就 / 便） + Result

Usage

• "倘若 / 假若 / 假使" are three formal conditional conjunctions equivalent to "如果" (HSK 3), but much more literary.
• All three introduce a hypothetical clause, while the main clause may contain "就 / 便 / 那么 / 则".
• Nuances: (1) "倘若" (tǎngruò) carries a classical, literary flavor often found in novels and essays, frequently pairing with "早就 / 恐怕" for counterfactual conditions; (2) "假若" (jiǎruò) and "假使" (jiǎshǐ) both mean "supposing/if", with "假使" being slightly more archaic and formal, often used for counterfactual past situations; (3) None of these three are used in casual spoken Chinese, where "

Examples

1. 1

   倘若没有你的帮助，我恐怕早就放弃了。

   Tǎngruò méiyǒu nǐ de bāngzhù, wǒ kǒngpà zǎo jiù fàngqì le.

   Had it not been for your help, I am afraid I would have given up long ago.

2. 2

   假若明天下雨，会议将延期举行。

   Jiǎruò míngtiān xià yǔ, huìyì jiāng yánqī jǔxíng.

   Should it rain tomorrow, the conference will be postponed.

3. 3

   假使他当时勇敢一些，结果或许就不一样了。

   Jiǎshǐ tā dāngshí yǒnggǎn yīxiē, jiéguǒ huòxǔ jiù bù yīyàng le.

   Supposing he had been a bit braver back then, the outcome might have been different.