たら

If/when (Completed)

Level 2Sounds Like tara

たら is the most common 'if/when' pattern in Japanese. It connects two actions where the first must finish before the second happens. It is unique because it can be followed by requests, commands, or personal intentions.

How It Works

The たら conditional is often called the 'completed' conditional because it implies that the condition in the first clause must be fulfilled or finished before the result in the second clause occurs.

1. Versatility:
Unlike other conditionals like と or ば, たら has very few restrictions. You can use it for:

  • Hypotheticals: 'If I win the lottery...'
  • Temporal sequences: 'When I get home...'
  • Requests/Commands: 'If you see him, tell him...'

2. Formation:
It always attaches to the past tense form:

  • Verbs: 飲む → 飲んだ → 飲んだら (If/when I drink)
  • い-Adjectives: 安い → 安かった → 安かったら (If it's cheap)
  • な-Adjectives: 暇だ → 暇だった → 暇だったら (If I'm free)
  • Nouns: 雨だ → 雨だった → 雨だったら (If it's rain)
  • Negatives: 行かない → 行かなかった → 行かなかったら (If I don't go)

3. The 'Discovery' Usage:
When the main clause (the result) is in the past tense, たら indicates that the speaker did something and then discovered something unexpected. In this case, it translates to 'When I did [A], I found [B].'
Example: 窓（まど）を開（あ）けたら、雪（ゆき）が降（ふ）っていた。 (When I opened the window, [I found] it was snowing.)

Examples (4)

  1. 安かったら、買います。

    If it is cheap, I will buy it.

    Word by Word: Cheap-was-if, buy.

    Uses the past form of the い-adjective 安い（やすい） + ら to create a hypothetical condition.

  2. 日本に着いたら、電話してください。

    When you arrive in Japan, please call me.

    Word by Word: Japan to arrive-past-if, phone please-do.

    Here, たら functions as 'when/after' because the arrival must happen first. Note that it is followed by a request (ください), which is perfectly natural with たら.

  3. お金があったら、旅行に行きたいです。

    If I had money, I would want to go on a trip.

    Word by Word: Money subject-marker exist-past-if, travel to go-want is.

    A classic hypothetical 'if' sentence using the verb ある.

  4. 箱を開けたら、手紙が入っていました。

    When I opened the box, there was a letter inside.

    Word by Word: Box object-marker open-past-if, letter subject-marker enter-stay-past.

    This is the 'discovery' usage. Because the end of the sentence is in the past tense, it describes an observation made after an action.

Common Mistakes

  • Attaching ら to the dictionary form instead of the past tense.

    明日、行くら教えてください。
    明日、行ったら教えてください。

    たら must always follow the plain past (た-form). 行くら is grammatically impossible; it must be 行ったら（いったら）.

  • Using たら when the result happens BEFORE the condition.

    日本に行ったら、チケットを買います。
    日本に行くなら、チケットを買います。

    If you need to buy the ticket before going to Japan, you cannot use たら. たら implies the first action (going to Japan) finishes first. In this context, なら is the correct choice.

How It Connects

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たらLevel 2If/when (Completed)

Learn This First

The 'tara' conditional is a compound structure built directly upon the plain past tense (ta-form). To use it, you must be able to conjugate verbs and adjectives into their past forms and understand how to link two clauses together to express a sequence or condition.

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