In the NTT Can herupu yuu I invited readers to ask if they wanted to know the nitty-gritty details regarding the difference in Japanese「ば」or「たら」。Well, someone did, so here we go.

For a quick review, both 「ば」and 「たら」can have the meaning of “if” when used in the manner below.

A:「彼女に聞いたら教えてもらえるよ。」

B:「彼女に聞けば教えてもらえるよ。」

Both of these sentences can be roughly translated to mean “If you ask her, she can tell you.”

However in sentence B, the nuance is such that if you ask her emphasizing her, and nobody else, you can be told the information you are seeking. It has the connotation of if, and only if you ask her, can you be told what you need.

Sentence A on the other hand places the focus on the sequence of events. “If you ask her, you will be told the information you need.”

This is a small difference, but it is there. Most Japanese likely will not be able to explain it unless they are language educators themselves.

According to my Japanese professor, foreigners in general use 「ば」to mean “if” too often. If used too much, one can sound a little brazen without intending to.

The differences between 「たら」、「なら」、「と」and 「ば」can be a little tricky, but checking many examples should get you there.

On a final note, I asked a Japanese person at random to explain the “feeling” difference in the next two sentences.

A:「薬を飲んだら治る」

B:「薬を飲めば治る」

Random native speakers explanation:

「むずかしいね」

「Bのほうは治る確率がたかそう」

「あと、」

「Aは「薬を飲む」ってほうに重点があって、」

「Bは「病気が治る」ってことのほうに重点があるきがする。」

A：『体調悪いなら薬飲んだら？薬飲んだら治るんじゃない？』みたいな感じで、B：『この薬効くよ。この薬飲めば治るから！』みたいなかんじかな

Take that for what you will. This person is not a professional language teacher! Just a native speaker!

- Harvey