Marking a topic with "de hua"

You probably already know that 的话 (dehuà) can be put at the end of a phrase to express the meaning of "if." It can be used independently, or with 如果, both meaning "if." But it can also be used to simply identify a topic, sort of like saying "when it comes to...."

Structure

的话 can also be used to introduce a topic which the speaker intends to say more about.

Topic + 的话 ，Comment

Examples

Sometimes it's a fine line between an "if" statement and an "as for..." statement, as you'll see in some of the sentences below.

• 北京 的话，秋天 去 最好 。Běijīng dehuà, qiūtiān qù zuì hǎo.As for Beijing, autumn is the best time to go.
• 晚上 的话，当然 方便 啦 。Wǎnshang dehuà, dāngrán fāngbiàn la.The evening? Of course that's convenient.
• 这个 问题 的话，我 不 太 方便 说 。Zhè ge wèntí dehuà, wǒ bù tài fāngbiàn shuō.As for this question, it's not convenient for me to talk about it.
• 葡萄 的话，一定 要 吃 最 新鲜 的。Pútao dehuà, yīdìng yào chī zuì xīnxiān de.For grapes, always eat the freshest ones.
• 我 肯定 能 去 。 他 的话 ，我 就 不知道 了。Wǒ kěndìng néng qù. Tā dehuà, wǒ jiù bù zhīdào le.I can definitely go. As for him, I don't know.
• 回 老家 的话，还是 坐 高铁 比较 方便。Huí lǎojiā dehuà, háishì zuò gāotiě bǐjiào fāngbiàn.If you want to go back to your hometown, it's more convenient to take the high-speed train.
• 买 相机 的话，我 觉得 Sony相机 不错。Mǎi xiāngjī dehuà, wǒ juéde Sony xiāngjī bùcuò.If you want to buy a camera, I think Sony cameras are good.
• 我们 的 要求 比较 高 。具体 来说 的话 ，有 三 个 方面 。Wǒmen de yāoqiú bǐjiào gāo. Jùtǐ lái shuō dehuà, yǒu sān gè fāngmiàn.Our requirement is quite high. Specifically, there are three aspects.
• 你 去 上海 旅游 的话，一定 要 去 外滩。Nǐ qù Shànghǎi lǚyóu dehuà, yīdìng yào qù Wàitān.If you're going to Shanghai, you must go to the Bund.
• 买 衣服 的话，还是 要 去 实体店 试试的。Mǎi yīfu dehuà, háishì yào qù shítǐdiàn shìshi de.If you want to buy clothes, you should go to a real store.

See also

• "If…, then…" with "ruguo…, jiu…"
• Marking a topic with "ma"
• Topic-comment sentences

Sources and further reading

Websties

• Chinesegrammar.info: Chinese grammar de hua (的话): expressing “if” in Chinese with de hua

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