假使 / 假设…,那(么)…
suppose …, then …; if … (formal)
Structure
假使/假设 条件 , 那(么) 结果
What it means
'Suppose …, then …': a formal 'if' for a supposition, often one that is not or was not true.
How it is built
假使/假设 + condition + , + 那(么) + result (or subject + 就): 假设你是法官,那你会怎么判? (suppose you were the judge: how would you rule?).
When to use it
假使 is a written 如果. 假设 is also a verb and noun ('to suppose; hypothesis': 我们假设…, 这只是一个假设), so it is the one for speech and science.
Watch out
Not for a known fact: that is 既然. If the result holds whatever happens ('even if … still'), use 即使…也, not 假使…那么.
Examples
假使当时没有人报案,那么警方可能要过很久才会知道这起盗窃案。
Had nobody reported it at the time, the police might not have known about the burglary for a long while.
假设你是法官,那你会怎么判?
Suppose you were the judge: how would you rule?
假使只有被告人的口供,没有其他证据,那么法院就不能认定他有罪。
If there is only the defendant’s confession and no other evidence, the court cannot find him guilty.
Learn this in Lesson 193 · HSK 7–9: 一桩刑事案 (How a criminal case moves)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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