How to say “what if” in Chinese
what if; contingency
“What if” in Chinese is 万一, wàn yī: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
万一 is read wàn yī: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Before a measure word its tone changes: yí before a fourth tone, yì before the others. In numbers and dates it stays yī.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “万一”.
More words from the lesson “What if”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “what if” in Chinese?
“What if” in Chinese is 万一, pinyin wànyī.
What does 万一 mean?
万一 (wànyī) means “what if; contingency”.
How do you write 万一?
万一 is 2 characters: 万 (wàn) — ten thousand; 一 (yī) — one. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 万一?
万一 is read wànyī. Tones: wàn — fourth tone, yī — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“what if” in the lesson “What if”
This word is from the topic “Linking ideas” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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