Definition

1. Conjunction:
   • If only, I wish: Expresses a strong wish or regret about a situation that is not true or did not happen in the past. It is used to talk about hypothetical or unreal conditions, often with a sense of longing or lament.

Usage Examples

• Conjunction:
  • Phải chi tôi có nhiều thời gian hơn. (If only I had more time.)
  • Phải chi hôm qua trời không mưa. (I wish it hadn't rained yesterday.)
  • Phải chi cô ấy ở đây. (If only she were here.)

Advanced Usage

• "Phải chi... thì đã...": A common structure to express regret about a past event that did not occur, leading to a different (and often better) hypothetical outcome.
  • Phải chi tôi học hành chăm chỉ hơn thì đã đỗ đại học. (If only I had studied harder, I would have passed the university entrance exam.)
• "Phải chi... thôi": Used to express a simple, often resigned wish.
  • Phải chi mọi chuyện đơn giản vậy thôi. (If only everything were that simple.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phải như: A less common variant with the same meaning as "phải chi".
  • Phải như anh đến sớm hơn. (If only you had come earlier.)
• Giá mà: A synonym meaning "if only", used in the same context of expressing wishes about unreal situations.
  • Giá mà tôi biết trước. (If only I had known beforehand.)
• Ước gì: Literally "I wish that...", used for strong wishes about the present or future, but can also imply regret about the past.
  • Ước gì ngày mai là ngày nghỉ. (I wish tomorrow were a day off.)

Synonyms

• Giá mà: If only.
• Ước gì: I wish that.
• Nếu mà: If (a more general conditional, not exclusively for unreal past wishes).

Related Phrases

• Phải chi... có phải hơn không?: A rhetorical structure emphasizing the regret.
  • Phải chi nói ra sớm, có phải hơn không? (If only you had spoken up earlier, wouldn't that have been better?)

Related Idioms

• "Phải chi đừng có...": Expresses a wish that something had not happened.
  • Phải chi đừng có cuộc cãi vã đó. (If only that argument hadn't happened.)

1. cũng nói phải như If
   • Phải chi nghe lời anh thì việc đã xong
     If I had listened to you, the matter would have been settled