Conditional : 〜たら = ~tara (*Request Lesson)
Maggie :「ゆかり、掃除が終わったらマッサージしてね。」
= Yukari, Souji ga owattara massaaji shitene.
= Hey, Yukari, when you finish cleaning, give me a massage, OK?
Yukari :「気が向いたらね。」
= Ki ga muitara ne.
= If I feel like it…
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Hi, everyone!
Today’s lesson is for a loyal visitor of this site, Harin who left a following question in a comment last December…
Q : いつ「when…」という意味で「～たら」を使うか分かりません。
= Itsu “when..” toiu imi de “~ tara” wo tsukau ka wakarimasen.
= I don’t know when I can use “たら=tara” that means “when”
Also my lovely Twitter follower, Aki asked me recently how to use 〜たら(= ~tara) as well.
As you know there are a lot of ways to make conditional sentences, such as なら (=nara), ならば(= naraba), と(=to), れば(=reba), etc.
I will just focus on たら=tara today.（You’ll understand why when you see how long it takes to explain just one of these! 
)
First we see…
How to form “if-clause” with “たら“=tara
もし〜たら = moshi ~ tara
“If” in Japanese is もし(= moshi).
You can omit もし(=moshi) if you think the condition is more certain or likely to happen.
★もし(=moshi) + pronoun/noun + だったら = dattara
•私= watashi = I
→もし+ 私だったら…
= moshi watashi dattara…
•明日= ashita = tomorrow
→もし+明日だったら…
= moshi + ashita dattara …
•マギー= Maggie
→もし+マギーだったら…
= moshi + Maggie dattara…
•これ= kore = this
→もし +これだったら…
=moshi + kore dattara…
•日本人= nihonjin = Japanese people
→もし+日本人だったら...
= (moshi) nihonjin dattara…
•私の家= watashi no ie = my house
→もし +私の家だったら…
=moshi watashi no ie dattara….
•カレーライス =karei raisu = Curry and rice
→もし +カレーライスだったら…
= moshi karei raisu dattara….
negative sentences :
★もし(=moshi) + pronoun/noun + で(は）なかったら = de(wa) nakattara
•私= watashi
→もし+ 私で(は）なかったら…
= moshi watashi de(wa) nakattara
(casual form ) + じゃなかったら= ja nakattara
•私= watashi
→もし + 私じゃなかったら…
=moshi watashi ja nakattara
★もし=moshi + verb (past tense )+ら(=ra)
Note : We make the conditional form by using past tense but it can refer to the “simple present” or the “future“.
•ある = aru = there is
→ (past tense) あった(=atta)＋ら(=ra)
→もし+あったら
= moshi + attara
•読む= yomu = to read
→ (past tense) 読んだ(=yonda)＋ら(=ra)
→もし+ 読んだら
= moshi + yondara
Note : after the letter ん(=n), たら(=tara) will be だら(=dara)
•食べる = taberu = to eat
→ (past tense) 食べた(=tabeta)＋ら(=ra)
→もし+ 食べたら
= moshi + tabetara
•読んでいる= yonde iru = to be reading
→ (past tense) 読んだいた(=yonde ita)＋ら(=ra)
→もし+ 読んでいたら
= moshi + yonde itara
•食べている = tabete iru = to be eating
→(past tense) 食べていた(=tabete ita)＋ら(=ra)
→もし+ 食べていたら
= moshi + tabete itara
How to make negative sentences :
★もし(=moshi) + verb (past tense negative)+ら(=ra)
•出来る(= dekiru ) = to be finished, to be done, to be made
→(negative) 出来ない (= dekinai)
→(past tense) 出来なかった = dekinakatta
→もし+ 出来なかったら
= moshi + dekinakattara
•変わる(=kawaru) = to change
→negative 変わらない(=kawaranai)
→(past tense) 変わらなかった = kawaranakatta
→もし+ 変わらなかったら
= moshi + kawaranakattara
★もし(=moshi) + adjective past tense +ら(=ra)
•i-adjective
•美味しい = oishii = delicious
→(past tense) 美味しかった = oishikatta
→もし+ 美味しかったら
= moshi + oishikattara
•かわいい= kawaii = cute
→(past tense) かわいかった = kawaikatta
→もし+かわいかったら
= moshi + kawaikattara
negative sentences :
★もし(=moshi) + past negative + ら(= ra)
•美味しくない
→(past tense) 美味しくなかった (= oishiku nakatta)
→もし+ 美味しくなかったら
= moshi + oishiku nakattara
•na-adjective
•綺麗 = kirei = beautiful, pretty
→(past tense) 綺麗だった = kireidatta
→もし+ 綺麗だったら
= moshi +kirei dattara
•元気 = genki = energetic, healthy
→(past tense) 元気だった = genkidatta
→もし+ 元気だったら
= moshi +genki dattara
negative sentences :
★もし(=moshi) + past negative + ら(= ra)
•元気で（は）ない
= genki de (wa)nai
→(past tense) 元気で（は）なかった
= genki de (wa) nakatta
→もし + 元気で（は）なかったら
= moshi + genki de (wa) nakattara
(more casual)
もし + 元気じゃなかったら
= Moshi genki ja nakattara
************************
★ Conditional Sentences:
もし(= moshi) + condition + たら(=tara) + possible consequences, what you are going to do
Theoretically possible to fulfill a condition which is given in the if-clause.
(You can omit もし=moshi: Check the notes below)
Ex. もし明日晴れたら、ゴルフに行きます。
= Moshi ashita haretara gorufu ni ikimasu.
= If the weather is good tomorrow, I will go play golf.
Ex. もし雨が降ったら中止です。
= Moshi Ame ga futtara chuushi desu.
= If it rains, it will be canceled.
Ex. もし試験に落ちたら他の学校を受ける。
= Moshi Shiken ni ochitara hoka no gakkou wo ukeru.
= If I fail the exam, I will take an exam for other school.
Ex. もしわからないことがあったらいつでも聞いて下さい。
= Moshi Wakaranai koto ga attara itsudemo kiite kudasai.
= If there is anything that you don’t understand, please ask me anytime.
Ex. もしもっと勉強したら日本語が上手になるよ！
= (Moshi) Motto benkyou shitara nihongo ga jouzu ni naruyo!
= If you study more, your Japanese will improve.
Ex. もしマギーに会ったら宜しく伝えてね。
= (Moshi) Maggie ni attara yoroshiku tsutaete ne.
= If you see Maggie, please tell her “hello” for me.
Ex. それ美味しかったら私も食べたい。
= Sore oishikattara watashi mo tabetai.
= If it’s good, I want to eat it, too.
Ex. もし忙しかったら明日でもいいです。
= Moshi isogashikattara ashita demo iidesu.
= If you are busy, tomorrow is fine.
Ex. もしマギーの電話番号知っていたら教えて。
= Moshi Maggie no denwa bangou shitte itara oshiete.
= If you know Maggie’s phone number, please give it to me.
Note : When do we omit もし= moshi.
As I mentioned above, when the speaker feels the condition is more likely to happen or certain, we tend to omit もし= moshi
a) もしよかったらどうぞ
= Moshi yokattara douzo.
= Please help yourself
(Literal meaning : If you want, please help yourself.)
よかったらどうぞ
= Yokattara douzo
In this case using もし (=moshi) is more subtle and it could be more polite and without もし=moshi is more direct.
Ex. もし日本に来たら連絡してね。
= Moshi nihon ni kitara renraku shitene.
= If you come to Japan, let me know.
(The speaker thinks the possibility is higher)
日本に来たら連絡してね。
= Nihon ni kitara renraku shitene.
= When you come to Japan, let me know.
Ex. もし嫌だったらやらなくていいよ。
= Moshi iyadattara yaranakute iiyo.
= If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it.
嫌だったらやらなくていいよ。(sounds stronger)
= Iyadattara yaranakute iiyo.
When you give directions, you don’t need もし=moshi
Ex. この道をまっすぐいったらすぐわかります。
= Kono michi wo massugu ittara sugu wakarimasu.
= Go straight down this road and you can’t miss it.
Ex. 食べ終わったら自分で片付けてね。
= Tabeowattara jibun de katazukete ne.
= When you finish eating, clean up after yourself.
2) When you bring up a hypothetical condition which is impossible or difficult to be fulfilled (or something emotionally hard to imagine) :
Ex. もし宝くじに当たったらこの車を買えるのに。
= Moshi takara kuji ni atattara kono kuruma wo kaeru noni.
= If I won the lottery, I could buy this car…
Ex. もし私がマギーだったらあんなことは言わない(のに)。
= Moshi watashi ga Maggie dattara anna koto wa iwanai (noni).
= If I were Maggie, I wouldn’t have said such a thing.
Ex. (もし)お天気だったら洗濯が出来た(のに)。
= (Moshi) Otenki dattara sentaku ga dekita (noni).
= If the weather had been nice, I could have done the laundry.
Ex. もしあなたが死んでしまったら生きていけない。
= Moshi anataga shinde shimattara ikite ikenai.
= If you die, I wouldn’t be able to survive.
Ex. 父が生きていたら喜んでくれたのに。
= Chichi ga ikite itara yorokonde kuretanoni.
= If my father were alive, he would be very happy for me.
Note: のに (= noni) stresses the meaning and you can express your feelings of accusation or regrets.
★ When you express your desire :
(* You don’t need もし= moshi)
Ex. JLPTの１級に受かったらいいのに。
= JLPT no ikyuu ni ukattara iinoni.
= I wish I could pass JLPT Level 1.
Ex. マギーも来たらよかったのに。
= Maggie mo kitara yokatta noni.
= You (Maggie) should have come,too.
Ex. 明日、お天気だったらいいね。
= Ashita otenki dattara iine.
= Hope the weather is nice tomorrow.
Now besides “if”, たら(=tara) has a meaning of “when“
★When you bring up a possible condition and consequence and then asking for a favor or giving a direction:
Ex. 給料が出たらおごってあげるよ！
= Kyuuryou ga detara ogotte ageruyo.
= When I get paid, I will treat you.
Ex. ご飯できたら呼んで！
= Gohen dekitara yonde!
= Call me when dinner is ready.
Ex. その本、読み終わったら貸してくれる？
= Sono hon yomiowattara kashite kureru?
= When you finish reading the book, can you lend it to me?
Ex. 落ち着いたら電話をかけ直します。
= Ochitsuitara denwa wo kakenaoshimasu.
= I will call you back when things settle down.
Ex. 春が来たら旅行に行こう。
= Haru ga kitara ryokou ni ikou.
= When spring comes, let’s go traveling!
Ex.それ終わったら教えて！
= Sore owattara oshiete!
= Tell me when you are done/you finish it.
Ex. 駅に着いたら電話を頂戴。
= Eki ni tsuitara denwa wo choudai.
= When you get to the station, give me a call.
Ex. あと１０分経ったらケーキが焼き上がります。
= Ato juppun tattara keiki ga yakiagarimasu.
= The cake will be finished baking in 10 more minutes.
★When you make a suggestion, you can also use たら= tara
Ex. 歯が痛いんだったら歯医者さんに行ったら？
= Haga itain dattara haisha san ni ittara?
= If you have a toothache why don’t you go to the dentist?
Ex. マギー先生に優しくしたら？
= Maggie Sensei ni yasahiku shitara?
= Why don’t you be nice to Maggie Sensei
Ex. もう寝たらいいのに！
= Mou netara iinoni!
= You should go to bed already!
From the picture above :
「ゆかり、掃除が終わったらマッサージしてね。」
= Yukari, Souji ga owattara massaaji shitene.
= Hey, Yukari, when you finish cleaning, give me a massage, OK?
「気が向いたらね。」
= Ki ga muitara ne.
= If I feel like it…
* 気が向く = ki ga muku = to feel like doing something
マギー先生より= Maggie Sensei yori = From Maggie Sensei
マッサージが終わったらご飯作ってね。
= Massaaji ga owattara gohan tsukutte ne.
= When you finish massage, fix my meal, OK?
Do you want to practice ”~たら~tara” with me? Then follow me on Twiter
もしよかったらフォローしてね。
= Moshi yokattara follow shitene.
24 Responses to “Conditional : 〜たら = ~tara (*Request Lesson)”
Leave a Reply
@maggiesensei 
gakusei89 on January 27th, 2012
拝啓先生
I am having some serious trouble understanding the difference between ~とき and ~たら to mean “When…”. Please do give thought to do a lesson on it sometime in the future.
敬具
Maggie on January 27th, 2012
@gakusei89
Hello!! Thank you for visiting this site!
I hope you understand how and when to use たら in this lesson. As you have seen たら is usually used in a conditional sentence.
時 is used as “when” and “if”. I think the later one confuses you more. Will put that on the request list.
Elefumi on January 21st, 2012
Hi Maggie-Ssensei!
First, I want to say THANK YOU for doing a great job here!
Now my question:
There is:
a) ittara ii noni (Verb in conditional form/tara ii no ni) and
b) iketara ii no ni (Verb in potential form/tara ii no ni)
Whats the difference in usage and meaning of these two? I was told that a) is used only for 3. persons (I wish HE could go…) but I found lots of examples where both a) and b) are used in the same way. Could you please help? Thank you in advance!
Ele
Maggie on January 21st, 2012
@Elefumi
Thank you for visiting this site!
OK, the difference bettween 1) 行ったらいいのに( = ittara ii noni) and 2) 行けたらいいのに ( = Iketara ii noni)?
1) 行ったらいいのに( = ittara ii noni) is a suggestion for other people.
Why don’t you go?
You should go!
(You only use it for the 3rd person. Not yourself)
2) 行けたらいいのに ( = Iketara ii noni)
We say this when there is no (or less) possibility to go.
I wish I could go / I wish (someone) could go
(You can use both yourself or other people.)
Hope this helps…
Ron on August 31st, 2011
Hi. sensei. How do you translate this?
If i played basketball(for example when i was a child) I would be very good now!.
using past conditions? which conditional should i use?
Maggie on September 1st, 2011
@Ron
Hi Ron!
There are a couple of ways to say this but one pattern is : ~っていたら 〜(の)に
子供（こども）の頃（ころ）、バスケットボールをやっていたら今頃(いまごろ）、とてもうまくなっていただろうに。or いたのに
Luna on May 19th, 2011
マギー先生の日本語のレッソンを読んだら、よく分かります！★
ありがとうマギー先生(笑)
ルナより。
Maggie on May 19th, 2011
@Luna
こちらこそこのサイトに来てくれてありがとう！ルナ！
また来てね！
Aki on April 12th, 2011
sensei, I was at this lesson again 質問があるよ＾＾
「生」の漢字が説明してくれる？
I’ve seen it as すむーー＞生む
and as いーー＞父が生きていたら喜んでくれたのに。
so I am wondering what are all of its uses/pronounciations?
教えって下さい！m(_ _)m
Maggie on April 12th, 2011
@Aki
Sure!
生
★kun reading
1) 生=nama= raw/fresh 生魚= namazakana = raw fish / 生クリーム= fresh cream / 生野菜= namayasai = fresh vegetable/ 生ビール= draft beer
2) 生む(or 産む）= umu = to give birth, produce Ex.かわいい子供を生む(or 産む）= kawaii kodomo wo umu = to give birth to a cute baby
3) 生まれる(or 産まれる）= umareru = to be born Ex. マギーは９月に生まれた。Maggie wa kugatsu ni umareta = Maggie was born in September.
4) 生きる= ikiru = to live, to alive Ex. 生きる喜び= ikiru yorokobi = a pleasure to live
5)生える= haeru = to grow Ex. 木が生える= kiga haeru = the tree grows Ex. 歯が生える= haga haeru = the tooth (teeth) grow(s)
★on reading
6) 生= sei = life Ex. 生活= せいかつ= seikatsu = life Ex. 学生= gakusei = student Ex. 生徒= seito= student, 先生= sensei= teacher
7) 生 = jou Ex. 誕生日= tanjoubi = birthday
8) 生= ki = pure, fresh Ex. 生じょうゆ= kijouyu = pure soy sauce
There are more but I think it should be enough for now.
Aki on April 12th, 2011
わぁ～！本当にありがとう！！！
でわ、あきも９月に生まれた。＾＾
Maggie on April 12th, 2011
@Aki
そうなの？Akiも私と同じ９月生まれなのね〜！一緒（いっしょ）だね。なんか、嬉（うれ）しい！
Deja on April 6th, 2011
Wow! Super useful! Great job! Thank you very much!
どうもありがとうございます。
Maggie on April 6th, 2011
@Deja
Hi Deja! (Your name sounds familiar. Are you the one who follows me on Twitter?) Anyway I am happy to hear it is useful!
Harin on March 5th, 2011
あっ、私は最近忙しすぎてリクエストに返事してくれたのは見ませんでした！（それにメールが”spam”として受信したんです^^;)
本当にありがとうございました！はっきり説明してとっても勉強になりましたよ！
Maggie on March 5th, 2011
@Harin
Harinさんの為に作ったからレッスンをやっと見てもらえてよかった〜！！
是非、練習してみて下さいね。
jing on February 19th, 2011
hi maggie, im so happy i came across your website…very helpful.. i have a new japanese friend and he is learning my local dialect..i want to learn japanese too, so its easy for him to understand…can you please post some helpful phrases for friends who gives special attention to each other? thanks maggie…
Maggie on February 19th, 2011
@Jing
Hi, Jing!! Thank you for visiting this site.
OK, I want you to be more specific about “special attentio”, though. Are there any particular phrases that you want to learn?
And do you know any Japanese?
Aki on February 18th, 2011
sou? atashi wa hontouni “lovely”? arigatou sensei
Maggie on February 18th, 2011
@Aki
も*ち*ろ*ん！！(*´∇｀*)
デイヴィッド on February 17th, 2011
役に立つレッスンです。分かりやすい説明してくれてありがとうございます。じゃ、「～たら」の文を作ってみますーよいしょ！規則的にマギー先生のレッスンから勉強したら、日本語がじょうずになります。ところで、アンディニさんと同意します。
Maggie on February 18th, 2011
122.27.111.145
2011/02/18 at 12:09 am | In reply to デイヴィッド.
@デイヴィッド
わあ、ありがとう！！ さっそく”~たら”の文章作りましたね。またちょくちょくこのサイトに来てくれたらうれしいです。
Andini Rizky on February 17th, 2011
I really like the way you use colorful fonts, cute 絵文字, and highlights. Thank you for such a great explanation about -tara. Now I know how to explain about the verb conjugation in case anyone asks.I mean I can use -tara but I’ forgot the theory. ;)
Maggie on February 17th, 2011
@Andini
Hi Andini!! Thank you for checking the lesson. You are sooo quick! I am happy to hear you like my “colorful” lessons!