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Easy Guide to: 〜ければ
The Conditional Form of い-Adjectives

Happy Sunday Japanophiles, Herewith the 64th issue of the Hai Japan Newsletter — your Weekly Dose of Japan!
Today, we’re simply going through some grammar:

Anime of the week: Akudama Drive !
〜ければ: The Conditional Form of い-Adjectives

Used to express “if…” or “when…” conditions related to adjectives
Table of Contents

The Basics
Forming 〜ければ
Patterns of Use
Uses
General Truths
Habits
Beyond the Basics
Future Uncertainty
Intentions and Future Wishes
Common Mistakes
い-Adjective Look-Alikes
The Basics

The form 〜ければ transforms an い-adjective into its conditional form. It’s similar to saying “if it’s [adjective]” in English.
It can be used in both casual and formal settings and appears in spoken language, writing, and even proverbs.
Forming 〜ければ

Drop the final い of the い-adjective, and add ければ:
Adjective | Conditional Form | Meaning |
---|---|---|
かわいい (cute) | かわいければ | if (it’s) cute |
高い (expensive) | 高ければ | if (it’s) expensive |
よい (good) | よければ | if (it’s) good |
かわいくない | かわいくなければ | if (it’s not cute) |
Note: よい (good) becomes よければ, not よいければ.
Patterns of Use

Like other conditional clauses, 〜ければ sets a condition. Sentences using it have this pattern:
[Condition] + [Result]
Example:
おいしければ、売れるでしょう。
If it’s delicious, it will sell well.
Reversed Order (spoken):
売れると思うよ、おいしければ。
I think it’ll sell well… if it’s tasty, that is.
Uses

1. General Truths
Use 〜ければ to describe things that are always true under a certain condition.
Example:
終わりよければ全てよし。
All’s well that ends well.
2. Habits

It can express habits that occur when a condition is met:
Present Habit:
天気がよければよく外を走ります。
If the weather’s nice, I often go running.
Past Habit:
子供のころは、天気がよければよく外を走りました。
When I was a child, I used to run if the weather was nice.
Emphatic Past Habit:
天気がよければよく外を走ったものだ。
I used to go running often when the weather was nice.
Beyond the Basics

3. Future Uncertainty
Use with words like もし, かもしれない, or でしょう to talk about uncertain conditions.
Examples:
もし天気が悪ければ、遠足は中止になるかもしれない。
If the weather is bad, the trip might be canceled.
4. Intentions and Future Wishes

Pair with つもり (intention) or 〜ましょう (let’s) to express plans.
Example (Intention):
質がよければ、買うつもりです。
If it’s good quality, I plan to buy it.
Example (Suggestion):
質がよければ、買いましょう。
If it’s good quality, let’s buy it.
Common Mistakes

い-Adjective Look-Alikes
Some nouns and verbs look like い-adjectives but are not.
For example:
違う (to be wrong/different) becomes 違い (difference — a noun).
Incorrect:
❌ 違ければ、言ってください。
Correct:
⭕ 違えば、言ってください。
If it’s wrong, please let me know.
Tip: If it ends in う and is a verb, don’t use ければ — use the verb conditional form 〜えば instead.
That’s all, folks!
Let me know if you enjoyed this simple grammar run-through :)
Have a great Sunday!
