Russian Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Russian language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I found these two recently in different sources:
Она уже не маленькая, если что.
(talking about their daughter, who wanted to move to America)
Я пойду и побью его. - Он 5 лет занимался боксом, если что.
The only reference I found for если что was with случится, i.e. if anything happens. What is the speaker trying to say in these examples?
The first can be translated as:
She's not a kid (anymore), just in case you forgot.
or depending on the context:
She's not a kid, (she'll be able to solve her problems) if anything happens.
The second is:
He has five years of boxing experience, just in case you didn't know.
Or maybe "if you know what I mean" would better translate "если что" here.
The usage is slightly non-standard, but understandable.
It's a turn of speech combining the meanings of "if something (unclear, misunderstood, happens, goes wrong, etc)". Russians love to use vague phrases like this with different meanings. See also: Ну ты заходи, если что
In my opinion, если что has strong negative connotations or implications, such as if worse comes to worst, in case of emergency/emergencies.
Она уже не маленькая, если что can be rendered as Она уже взрослая и самостоятельная, сдюжит, пройдёт все испытания и риски.
Я пойду и побью его. - Он 5 лет занимался боксом, если что can be rendered as [...] Только ты учти: он 5 лет занимался боксом. Так что непростая у тебя будет задачка/ But take note... The speaker is implying that chances are that it's his friend, not his rival, who will be beaten.
