if I had to say; if pressed; if I must choose
Used when giving an opinion or answer reluctantly, often implying that the speaker would rather not commit or that the distinction is minor.
If I had to say, I like this one a little better.
If pressed, his explanation was a bit hard to follow.
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling.
Kana spelling of the first part; common in casual writing.
From 強いて (shīte, 'forcibly') + 言えば (ieba, conditional of 言う 'to say'). Literally 'if one says forcibly'.