Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 8: 18/18

もしIf (For emphasis)

Structure

もし + Phrase[たら](1)

(1) Phrase[ば]Phrase[と]Phrase[ても]

Details

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About もし

もし is an adverb used to emphasize the nuance of 'if', with expressions like , , なら, たら, and ても. Literally, the meaning of もし is close to 'while slight', or 'while small'.

To use もし, simply add it to the beginning of any phrase that uses one of the conditional expressions listed above.

Fun Fact

もし is sometimes seen written as (), a kanji which has the meaning of 'low in (A)', (also seen in the word (わか) 'young'). It is from this kanji that もし gets its meaning of 'while low in (probability, number, age, experience)'.



Examples

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    もし(あめ)()たら(くるま)()

    If it rains, I will go by car.

    もし(から)ものだったら()べられない。

    If it is spicy, I can't eat it.

    もしコーヒー()てくれたら(うれ)

    If you bought coffee for me, I would be happy.

    もしこのパソコン彼女(かのじょ)あげなら説明書(せつめいしょ)(わた)して

    If you are going to give this computer to her, (make sure to) give her the manual too.

    もし(きみ)文法(ぶんぽう)勉強(べんきょう)たら日本語(にほんご)(しゃべ)れるようになでしょう

    If you study grammar, you will become able to speak Japanese, right?

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もし – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (2 in total)

  • RadicalC

    RadicalC

    What im still wondering is, the difference between たとえ and もし when using ても.

    もし雨が降ってもいく
    (on the small chance that) if it rains, (even despite that), ill (still) go
    たとえ雨が降ってもいく
    (supposing it) rains, (even despite that), ill (still) go

    もし高くても買う on the small chance its expensive, even despite that, ill buy it
    たとえ高くても買う supposing that its expensive, even despite that, ill buy it

    Seems I should be focusing on the Adverbs meaning/nuance

  • John-Bunpro

    John-Bunpro

    Hey, thanks for the thoughtful question!

    In this case, I think the best way to think about it is that the fundamental meaning is unchanged (and technically, the fundamental meaning would not change even if it were just 雨が降っても行く, without either もし or たとえ), but もし and たとえ just add slightly different nuances.

    もし simply emphasizes the hypothetical nature of the statement or situation (kind of ‘signalling’ from the start of the sentence that a hypothetical is coming).
    In contrast, たとえ puts additional focus on the contrastive nature of the statement, that is to say it gives it even stronger sense of even if that happens…

    It’s a subtle distinction (and again, neither もし nor たとえ significantly changes the underlying meaning of the sentence), but these are words that can be used to give language more nuance.

    Does that help clear things up at all?
    Feel free to follow up if you have any lingering questions or concerns!

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