Although there are a number of ways to express "it depends" in Chinese, the most common ones in informal spoken Chinese involve the verb 看 (kàn). Some common expressions include 要看 (yào kàn) and 得看 (děi kàn). Both mean "(it) depends (on)." Literally, they would translate as "have to look at," so the logic is not hard to understand. If you're looking for more formal language, consider 取决于 (qǔjué yú), "to be dependent on." == Basic Pattern == If you're answering a question with "it depends on..." then this is the pattern you want. === Structure === === Examples === Keep in mind that the "answers" below are meant to be an answer to some imaginary question that we don't include. == Advanced Pattern == === Structure === If you're going to write a full sentence explaining what "it" depends on, then you're going to need to lead off with some kind of explanation of the "unknown outcome" of what "it depends" on. So you'll start with the "unknown outcome" in the first part of the sentence (''before'' 要看 / 得看) and then end up with what "it depends on" (''after'' 要看 / 得看). The "unknown outcome" normally includes some kind of [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Question_word question word], meaning something like "''whether or not'' x happens" or "''what'' x does," etc. === Examples === == See also == == Sources and further reading == === Books === * [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Common_Chinese_Patterns_330_(%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%B8%B8%E7%94%A8%E6%A0%BC%E5%BC%8F330%E4%BE%8B) Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例)] (pp. 168) [http://amzn.to/2zBMfhl →buy]