3

I found the following example on this webpage:

你 高兴,我 也 高兴。

nǐ gāoxìng, wǒ yě gāoxìng.

If you are happy then I am happy.

Somehow, the translation sounds weird to me, as I would rather translate it more literally with "You are happy, (and) I am also happy".

Q. Is this a common way to construct "if ... then ..."-kind of sentences?

When I searched about this topic online, I was only able to find the following approaches and not the one I have doubts about:

4

1 Answer 1

4

你 高兴,我 也 高兴。

I interpret it as "You are happy, and I am happy too." It means your happiness may not be necessarily relevant to mine, but they just happen simultaneously for some or no reason.

Think about this similar sentence: 你有苹果,我也有苹果. It means you have an apple and I have one too. It doesn't mean if you have an apple then I have an apple too. There isn't any correlation here.

"If you are happy then I am happy." is more like (如果)你高兴,我就高兴. 如果 in this case can be dropped.

But if you say 如果你有苹果,我就有苹果, it clearly address the conditional relationship. It means both of us share the same prerequisite for getting an apple. So, if you can get one, then no doubt I can get one too.

Hope this clear.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.