Learn the difference between -BA and -TARA
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| Hi everybody! Hiroko here. Welcome to Ask a Teacher, where I’ll answer some of your most common Japanese questions. |
| The question for this lesson is...What’s the difference between the conditionals ば (-ba) and たら (-tara)? |
| The endings ば (-ba) and たら (-tara) are both used for conditionals in Japanese. So how do you know which one to use? |
| The nuance is slightly different. If the sentence is-- |
| [Clause A]ば (-ba) [Clause B] - then ば (-ba) would be “as long as” making the condition the focus of the sentence. |
| If the sentence is -- |
| [Clause A]たら(-tara)[Clause B] then Clause B can only happen if Clause A is realized. |
| Let’s do some examples so you can learn how to use ば (-ba) and たら (-tara) correctly. |
| First, let’s do an example using both-- |
| 今すぐ行けば、間に合うだろう。(Ima sugu ikeba, ma ni au darō.) |
| 今すぐ行ったら、間に合うだろう。(Ima sugu ittara, ma ni au darō.) |
| Both of these sentences mean “If you go right now, you would make it on time.” As Clause B can only happen if Clause A occurs, たら (-tara) is alright. However, if the focus of your sentence is the condition, “if you go right now,” then it would be more natural to use ば (-ba). |
| There’s a difference in nuance, but in many cases, you can use both ば (-ba) and たら (-tara) to mean “if.” But, there is a case where you can use only たら (-tara). |
| If Clause B is an order, recommendation, request, prohibition, wish or volition, only たら (-tara) can be used. For example-- |
| 日本に行ったら、京都を訪ねてください。(Nihon ni ittara, Kyōto o tazunete kudasai.) |
| “When you go to Japan, please visit Kyoto.” Here, the speaker is making a request. Therefore, only たら (-tara) can be used. |
| Let's take a look at another example expressing one’s volition in Clause B-- |
| 日本に行ったら、マンガを買います。(Nihon ni ittara, manga o kaimasu.) |
| “When I go to Japan, I’ll buy manga.” Here, Clause B expresses one’s volition, therefore only たら(-tara) can be used. |
| Here’s a tricky point. There is a case where you can also use ば (-ba) even if the Clause B expresses one’s volition or request. |
| Let’s say you’re shopping and you want to buy something sweet. You see some free samples and want to try one. You might say to your friend-- |
| おいしければ、買います。(Oishikereba, kaimasu.) or |
| おいしかったら、買います。(Oishikattara, kaimasu.) |
| “If it’s delicious, I’ll buy it.” |
| In this case, Clause B expresses the speaker’s volition, and Clause A doesn’t have an action verb, but it expresses the “state” using an adjective. In that case, you can use both ば (-ba) and たら (-tara). |
| How was this lesson? If it’s still confusing, don’t worry, because they have almost the same meaning. If you’re feeling stuck, try to focus on ば (-ba) because its usage has more restrictions. |
| Do you have any more questions? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them! |
| またね！mata ne! See you! |
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