Etymology of 若 vis-a-vis 如果 - Chinese Language Stack Exchange Being familiar with 如果, I immediately assumed 若 is just a short abbreviated spoken form of 如果 However, I broached the idea to my Chinese colleagues and they immediately pointed out instead that 若 in practice is a bit more stodgy version of 如果 primarily used among "elite" or pretentious types (more "formal" was their wording)