如果不……那……
Use this to lay out a 'what-if-not' scenario and follow it with what would happen — 'if not X, then Y.' It's the negative-condition twin of plain 如果……那……. Reach for it when you want to make the listener picture the absence of something ('if we weren't all different…') and then deliver the consequence. Very common in casual reflection and rhetorical questions.
Structure
如果不 [CONDITION], 那 [RESULT]
rúguǒ bù... nà...
How to Think About It
Three small words, three jobs: 如果 opens a hypothetical, 不 negates it, 那 hands you the consequence. The 那 here is not 'that' — it's a soft 'then' connector, often softened further to 那么. Drop 那 and the sentence still works, but it loses the rhetorical 'so… what?' beat that makes the result land.
Examples
如果不下雨，那我们就去公园。
Rúguǒ bù xià yǔ, nà wǒmen jiù qù gōngyuán.
If it doesn't rain, then we'll go to the park.
如果不努力学习，那考试肯定不及格。
Rúguǒ bù nǔlì xuéxí, nà kǎoshì kěndìng bù jígé.
If you don't study hard, then you'll definitely fail the test.
如果不是你提醒我，那我就忘了。
Rúguǒ bùshì nǐ tíxǐng wǒ, nà wǒ jiù wàng le.
If you hadn't reminded me, then I'd have forgotten.
Common Mistake
Learners attach 不 to the wrong piece — usually to the result clause — because English puts 'not' wherever it fits. In this pattern 不 always sits inside the 如果 clause and negates the condition, not the result.
如果一样，那不有意思。
如果不一样，那多有意思。
Don't Confuse With
如果……就……
就 replaces 那 for a tighter, more immediate 'then.' 如果不下雨，我就去 vs 如果不下雨，那我去 — same meaning, 就 feels snappier.
要不然……
要不然 means 'otherwise' and stands alone after a main clause. 如果不……那…… frames the whole hypothetical from the start.
除非……否则……
Means 'unless...otherwise...' — stronger, more formal. Use 如果不 for everyday hypotheticals, 除非 when there's exactly one escape condition.
Practice
如果____吃早饭，那上午会很饿。
Show answer
不
如果不便宜，____我不买。
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那
Arrange: 那 / 不 / 如果 / 来 / 我们 / 走 / 你
Show answer
如果你不来，那我们走。
Translate: If you don't like it, then we'll change it.
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如果你不喜欢，那我们就换。
Write one sentence using 如果不……那…… about a daily decision.
Show answer
如果不早点睡觉，那明天我肯定起不来。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: