yào shi
ถ้า; สมมุติ; ในกรณี
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要是你早点告诉我，我就不会迟到了。
yàoshi nǐ zǎodiǎn gàosu wǒ, wǒ jiù bùhuì chídàole.
If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have been late.
要是我们能早点出发，就不会堵车了。
yàoshi wǒmen néng zǎodiǎn chūfā, jiù bùhuì dǔchēle.
If we had left earlier, we wouldn't have been stuck in traffic.
要是你再不来，我就走了。
yàoshi nǐ zài bù lái, wǒ jiù zǒule.
If you don't come soon, I'm leaving.
除非 (chúfēi)
unless
假使 (jiǎshǐ)
if
The Chinese word 要是 (yào shì) is a conjunction that means "if" or "in case". It is composed of two characters: 要 (yào), which means "to want" or "to need", and 是 (shì), which is a copula that means "to be". The original meaning of 要是 was "to want to be", but over time it has come to be used more generally to mean "if".要是 is a very common word in Chinese, and it can be used in a variety of different contexts. For example, it can be used to express a condition, such as in the sentence 要是你不来，我就走了 (yào shì nǐ bù lái, wǒ jiù zǒu le), which means "If you don't come, I'll leave". It can also be used to express a purpose, such as in the sentence 我要是不努力学习，就考不上大学 (wǒ yào shì bù nǔlì xuéxí, jiù kǎo bù shàng dàxué), which means "If I don't study hard, I won't be able to get into university".要是 is a versatile word that can be used to express a variety of different meanings. It is an important word for HSK learners to know, as it is used frequently in everyday conversation.
