如 meaning in English

rú

as; as if

HSK 6verbconjunction6 strokes

Meaning of 如

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

rú

as
as if
such as

How to use 如

On its own, 如 is formal and literary, but it appears constantly in everyday words like 如果 (rúguǒ, if), 比如 (bǐrú, for example) and 不如 (bùrú, not as good as). Example: 我不如他高。(Wǒ bùrú tā gāo.) I am not as tall as him.

如 is made of 女 (woman) and 口 (mouth). Picture a woman repeating exactly what a mouth says, doing things just as she is told, so 如 means "as" or "like."

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 如 with 好 (hǎo), since both have 女 on the left. Check the right side: 如 has 口 (mouth), while 好 has 子 (child). Also keep the second tone in rú; do not read it as rù.

如 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

如rú果guǒ她tā知zhī道dào我wǒ在zài这zhè里lǐ, 她tā很hěn快kuài就jiù会huì来lái。

If she knows I'm here, she'll come quickly.

如rú果guǒ你nǐ能néng就jiù来lái吧ba。

Come if you can.

我wǒ不bù知zhī道dào如rú果guǒ没méi了le你nǐ我wǒ还hái能néng做zuò什shén么me。

I don't know what I'd do without you.

如rú果guǒ你nǐ不bù一yī起qǐ去qù的de话huà，我wǒ也yě不bù想xiǎng去qù了le。

I don't want to go if you don't go with me.

那nà么me，如rú果guǒ不bú是shì呢ne？

Then, what if it's not?

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

如 rú · as · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 如.

如果	rúguǒ	if; in case; in the event that
不如	bùrú	not equal to; not as good as; inferior to; it would be better to
比如	bǐrú	for example; for instance; such as
比如说	bǐrú shuō	for example
例如	lìrú	for example; for instance; such as
如何	rúhé	how; what way
如今	rújīn	nowadays; now
假如	jiǎrú	if
如此	rúcǐ	like this; so; such
正如	zhèngrú	just as; precisely as
如同	rútóng	like; as
如下	rúxià	as follows

Questions about 如

What does 如 mean?

如 (rú) means "as; as if" and is used as a verb and conjunction.

How do you write 如?

如 is made of 1 character: 如 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 如 an HSK word?

Yes. 如 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 比如 and 例如?

Both mean "for example" and are often interchangeable. 比如 is more common in speech, and 比如说 is very conversational. 例如 sounds more formal and is typical in writing.

Can I use 如 by itself in conversation?

Usually not. In casual speech people say 像 (xiàng) for "like" or 如果 for "if." Standalone 如 shows up in written, formal or set phrases such as 如下 (rúxià, as follows).