Japanese

Particle

なら ‎(romaji nara)

1. A conditional particle appended to the plain form of a verb.
   • 暑いなら、エアコンをつけて。

     あついなら、エアコンをつけて。

     Atsui nara, eakon o tsukete.

     If you’re hot, turn on the air conditioner.

Usage notes

• Use of なら (nara) implies that the verb before なら (nara) succeeds the verb after なら (nara) in time. This is the opposite of the conditional particle たら ‎(tara), which implies that the first verb will precede the second verb. Contrast:

  友達 (ともだち)が来 (く)るなら、私 (わたし)はピザを注文 (ちゅうもん)する。

  Tomodachi ga kuru nara, watashi wa piza o chūmon suru.

  If our friends come, I will order pizza [first].

  友達 (ともだち)が来 (き)たら、私 (わたし)はピザを注文 (ちゅうもん)する。

  Tomodachi ga kitara, watashi wa piza o chūmon suru.

  If our friends come, I will order pizza [afterward].

  • Notice that a verb in the past tense is needed to use たら ‎(tara). The ～た ‎(~ta) from the past tense is replaced by たら ‎(tara).
• Another well-known contrast between the two conditionals is the popular public service announcement:

  飲 (の)んだら乗 (の)るな。乗 (の)るなら飲 (の)むな。

  Nondara noru na. Noru nara nomu na.

  If you drink, don’t drive. If you [are going to] drive, don’t drink.

Proper noun

なら ‎(romaji Nara)

1. 奈良: Nara, a city in central Japan.

   奈良 (なら)県 (けん)。

   Nara-ken.

   Nara Prefecture.

   奈良 (なら)時代 (じだい)。

   Nara-jidai.

   The Nara Period.

Derived terms

See also

• なぜなら
• ならば
• なる
• たら