conditional N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜がなければ — if there is no ~ / without ~
〜がなければ ・ がなければ
Builds on ない形
Meaning
- if there is no ~ / without ~ — the negative ば conditional of ある (existence)
Key sentence
お金がなければ、何も買えない。
Without money, you can't buy anything.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun + が | N + が + なければ | 時間 → 時間がなければ |
Examples
水がなければ、人は生きられない。
Without water, people can't live.
予約がなければ、入れないこともある。
If you don't have a reservation, sometimes you can't get in.
君の助けがなければ、成功しなかっただろう。
Without your help, I wouldn't have succeeded.
Easily confused with
Notes
- The everyday equivalent 〜がなかったら is interchangeable in most contexts; なければ is a touch more neutral/written. Casual contraction: 〜がなきゃ.
See 〜がなければ in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜がなければ the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.