倘若 / 若: if (written)
复句 / complex sentences
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
倘若 and 若 are written equivalents of 如果, found in legal texts, editorials and essays.
• 倘若: sentence-initial, often with a serious hypothesis.
• 若: very short, common in regulations: 若…,则… ("if…, then…").
The consequence is introduced by 就, 便 or 则 (more formal). 若是、如若 also exist.
Examples
倘若法律不能保护弱者,社会就难以公平。
Tǎngruò fǎlǜ bù néng bǎohù ruòzhě, shèhuì jiù nányǐ gōngpíng.If the law can't protect the weak, society can hardly be fair.
若违反本规定,则需承担相应的责任。
Ruò wéifǎn běn guīdìng, zé xū chéngdān xiāngyìng de zérèn.Any breach of these rules will incur the corresponding liability.
倘若你当时在场,你会怎么做?
Tǎngruò nǐ dāngshí zài chǎng, nǐ huì zěnme zuò?If you'd been there at the time, what would you have done?
Common mistakes
✗ 若…所以… → ✓ 若…则/就….
✗ 倘若 with friends: ✗ 倘若你饿了,我们去吃火锅吧 → ✓ 要是你饿了…