Marking a topic with "de hua"

You probably already know that 的话 (de huà) 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

  • 北京 的话,秋天 去 最好 。Běijīng de huà, qiūtiān qù zuì hǎo.As for Beijing, autumn is the best time to go.
  • 晚上 的话,当然 方便 啦 。Wǎnshàng de huà, 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 de huà, wǒ bù tài fāngbiàn shuō.As for this question, it's not convenient for me to talk about it.
  • 我 肯定 能 去 。 他 的话 ,我 就 不知道 了。Wǒ kěndìng néng qù. Tā de huà, wǒ jiù bù zhīdào le.I can definitely go. As for him though, I don't know.
  • 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 de huà, yǒu sān gè fāngmiàn.Our requirement is quite high. Specifically, there are three aspects.

See also

Sources and further reading

Websties

HSK5