561 - ～たらいい (hope)
Here's a past lesson: [NDL #484] - JLPT N4: ～たら (if).
And here's our last lesson: [NDL #560] - JLPT N4: ～といい (hope).
Combine them, and you get: This lesson!
JLPT N4: ～たらいい (I hope...; it would be nice if...)
Since most of us lazy daisies don't feel like clicking links to old lessons, here's a quick recap of ～たら meaning "if"...
The conjugation patterns:
V た + ら
i-adjective かったら
NOUN (or na-adjective) + だったら
Some sample words:
ある（to be; to have）
痛い（いたい // painful; hurting）
不安（ふあん // anxiety [anxious]; uneasiness [uneasy]）
i-adjectives work like this:
痛い → 痛かったら
いたい → いたかったら
painful → if (it's) painful
For nouns and na-adjectives, just add だったら：
不安 → 不安だったら
ふあん → ふあん だったら
uneasy; anxious → if (you're feeling) uneasy / anxious / worried
For verbs, put them into simple past tense, then add ら to the end:
ある → あった → あったら
there is / have → there was / had → if there was / if (one) had
By adding いい, "good," to the end of ～たら, "if," the meanings becomes "I hope..." or "it would be nice if..."
An example:
A:
日曜日、晴れたらいいな。
にちようび、 はれたらいい な。
I hope it’s sunny on Sunday.
Literally: “Sunday, + if it became clear (weather) + good + な.”
B:
うん、いい天気だったらいいね。
うん、 いい てんきだったらいい ね。
Yeah, I hope the weather is nice.
Literally: “yeah, + good + weather + if it was + good + ね.”
No, this is not a glitch in the Matrix.
You have seen some very similar sentences to these. Specifically, these are from our last lesson:
A:
明日、雪が降らないといいね。
あした、 ゆき が ふらないといい ね。
Let’s hope it doesn’t snow tomorrow.
Literally: “tomorrow, + snow + が + doesn’t fall + と + good + ね.”
B:
うん。いい天気だといいね。
うん。 いい てんきだといい ね。
Yeah, hopefully the weather’s nice.
Literally: “yeah. + good + weather + だ + と + good + ね.”
So what's the difference between ～たらいい and ～といい？
NOTHING.
They mean the same thing.
Just like with ～といい, we also commonly append なあ to ～たらいい：
明日のテスト、簡単だったらいいなあ。
あした の テスト、 かんたんだったらいい なあ。
I hope tomorrow’s test is easy.
Literally: “tomorrow + の + test, + easy + if it was + good + なあ.”
And just like with ～といい, we add particles like けど、のに、and が (particles that mean "but," "although," etc.) when the possibility of something that we're hoping for is low.
Since we're talking about hoping for something unlikely, sometimes the English "it would be nice if" is more appropriate than "I hope" in these sentences:
明日の朝までに熱が下がったらいいんだけど。
あした の あさ まで に ねつ が さがったらいい んだけど。
It would be nice if my [her] fever went down by tomorrow morning.
Literally: “tomorrow + の + morning + until / by + に + fever + が + if it dropped + good + んだけど.”
学費がもう少し安かったらいいのになあ。
がくひ が もうすこし やすかったらいい のに なあ。
It’d be nice if tuition was a little cheaper.
Literally: “tuition / school fees + が + a bit more + if they were cheap + good + although (=のに) + なあ.”
And yet again, just like with ～といい, you should not put actions that you can control before ～たらいい：
× 今夜、ウォーカー先生に会ったらいいなあ。
× こんや、 ウォーカー せんせい に あったらいい なあ。
× I hope I go and see Walker-sensei tonight.
× Literally: “tonight, + Walker + teacher / sensei + に + if I met/saw + good + なあ.”
We would use the potential form of 会う (あう // to meet; to see) in this case, 会える (あえる // to be able to meet; to be able to see):
○ 今夜、ウォーカー先生に会えたらいいなあ。
○ こんや、 ウォーカー せんせい に あえたらいい なあ。
○ I hope I get to see [can see] Walker-sensei tonight.
○ Literally: “tonight, + Walker + teacher / sensei + に + if I could meet/see + good + なあ.”
We have one more grammar point in this set, ～ばいい, which we'll cover in the next N4 lesson. (Sneak preview: It means the same thing.)