Structure
Verb[た]+ ら
[い]Adjective[た]+ ら
[な]Adjective + だった + ら
Noun + だった + ら
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Standard
使用域
一般
About たら
The conjunction particle たら is used as a kind of 'halfway point' between 'if' and 'when' in Japanese. It expresses the completion of an (A) action, and then a (B) action that is considered to be the result of (A). It may be hypothetical, or it may be presenting a one-time result of something that happened in the past.
To use たら, it will replace た in the simple past form of verbs, い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives, and nouns.
Completion: 完了 - Completion of (A).
Materialization: 成立 - Coming to fruition of (A).
These meanings are opposed to other 'if' structures like ば, and なら, which focus far more strongly on the hypothetical 'if' meaning.
To use たら, it will replace た in the simple past form of verbs, い-Adjectives, な-Adjectives, and nouns.
- 今度遅れたら、許さないよ。When/if you are next late, I will not let it slide.
- 寒かったら、エアコンつけてね。When/if you are cold, turn on the air conditioner.
- 彼の事が好きだったら、彼に言った方がいい。When/if you like him, you should tell him.
- 明日だったら、遊べるよ。When/if it is tomorrow, I can hang out.
Caution
Despite appearing to be the past form of the word that it is attached to, たら itself does not actually carry the nuance of 'past'. Other words in the sentence will need to be examined to see whether たら is truly highlighting something from the past, or simply the completion of something (which may or may not happen in the future).- 来週だったら、いけるよ。If it is next week, I can go. (Highlighting a future event)
- 先週だったら行けたのに。If it was last week, I could have gone. (Highlighting a past event)
Fun Fact
Although たら is regularly used to mean 'if', it almost always has a nuance of 'when'. This is due to たら specifically highlighting the following situations:Completion: 完了 - Completion of (A).
Materialization: 成立 - Coming to fruition of (A).
These meanings are opposed to other 'if' structures like ば, and なら, which focus far more strongly on the hypothetical 'if' meaning.
- 買い物に行ったら、クッキーを買ってきて。When/if you go shopping, please get me some cookies.
- あなたがその本を読まないなら、私が読みます。If you are not going to read that book, I will read it.
Synonyms
あとで
After, Later
Not studied yet
ば
If… then, (Conditional)
Not studied yet
てから
Once...is done, Once...happens, After doing
Not studied yet
と
If, When, Whenever, And, [Conditional]
Not studied yet
なら
Were it, If, If it's the case, As for (Conditional)
Not studied yet
もし
If (For emphasis)
Not studied yet
上で
After, Upon
Not studied yet
たらどう
Why don't you...?, What if you did...?
Not studied yet
Examples
勉強したら、テストは簡単になる。
When/if you study, the test will become easy.
お茶の味が薄かったら、言ってください。
Please let me know if/when the tea is weak.
もし食べに行きたかったら、行こう。
If/when you want to go out to eat, let's go!
週末だったら、時間ありますよ。
When it is the weekend, then I have time.
辛かったら、牛乳を飲んでください。
If it is spicy, please drink some milk.
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Offline
みんなの日本語 I
Page 158 [CH 25]
みんなの日本語 II
Page 66 [CH 35]
Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai
Page 74 & 147
Genki II 1st Edition
Page 97
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 123
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 452
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 137
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 17
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たら – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (35 in total)
Warrie
もし食べに行きたかったら、行こう
If/when you want to go out to eat, let’s go!I can’t figure this one out, despite the explanation earlier in the thread.
The た in たかったら is from たい, but ‘If you want to’ isn’t past tense, so why is たい conjugated to past tense?IcyIceBear
Because that’s how たら is used, past tense with a ら
Warrie
Oh my. Completely missed that one. Thank you so much, spent an hour googling for an answer
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