“IF” / “WHEN” （と vs たら vs とき) Differences ┃PART1 と

Today, we’re going to talk about the particle と(to). This particle can be used for many things, but for now, we’ll just learn how to use と to say “if” or “when”. This article goes over the concepts in this video. I recommend you watch the video first and read this article whenever you want to review.

Using と to Show Cause and Effect

There are four ways to say “if” depending on the context: tara, keba, to, and nara.

行いったら
Ittara

行いけば
Ikeba

行いくと
Ikuto

行いくなら
Ikunara

と(to) has many different meanings. Most commonly, it means “and” or “with”.

みさとピカチュウは友達ともだち。
Misa to Pikachuu wa tomodachi.
Misa and Pikachu are friends.

友達ともだちとディズニーランドに行いきました。
Tomodachi to Dizuniirando ni ikimashita.
I went to Disneyland with my friends.

However, と can also mean “if” or “when”, but only when something happens as a result of something else.

Aと、B。
When A, B occurs.

春はるになると、桜さくらが咲さきます。
Haru ni naru to, sakura ga sakimasu.
Cherry blossoms bloom when (if) spring comes.

In the example above, we can use と because cherry blossoms bloom in the spring every year.

デスノートに人の名前なまえを書かくと、その人は死しぬ。
Desunooto ni hito no namae wo kaku to, sono hito wa shinu.
When/If you write a person’s name in a Death Note, that person (always) dies.

When you want to say “when”, you can also use とき(toki), but only in some situations. とき emphasizes time, not a cause-and-effect relationship.

Use と when the event in the second clause is caused by the action in the first clause.

歩あるいていたとき、お母かあさんから電話でんわが来きた。
Aruiteita toki, o-kaasan kara denwa ga kita.
When I was walking, I got a phone call from my mum.

In this case, you use とき(toki) because it is a coincidence that you got a phone call from your mum while you were walking. Walking did not cause your mum to call you, unless maybe your mum is psychic and always knows when you are walking. In that case, you can use と(to) like below.

歩あるくと、お母かあさんから電話でんわが来くる。
Aruku to, o-kaasan kara denwa ga kuru.
When/if I walk, I (always) get a phone call from my mum.

目めを閉とじると、何なにも見みえない。
Me wo tojiru to, nani mo mienai.
You can’t see anything when you close your eyes.

Here, we use と since every time you close your eyes, you can’t see anything.

電気でんきを消けすと、部屋へやが暗くらくなる。
Denki wo kesu to, heya ga kuraku naru.
The room (always) gets dark when(ever) you turn off the lights.

電気でんきをつけると、部屋へやが明あかるくなる。
Denki wo tsukeru to, heya ga akaruku naru.
The room (always) gets bright when(ever) you turn on the lights.

このボタンを押おすと、飲のみ物ものが出でてくる。
Kono botan wo osu to, nomimono ga dete kuru.
A drink (always) comes out when(ever) you press this button.

右足みぎあし出だして、左足ひだりあし出だすと、歩あるける。
Migi ashi dashite, hidari ashi dasu to, arukeru.
When(ever) you move your right leg forward, then move your left leg forward, you will (always) walk.

水みずに携帯けいたいを落おとすと、壊こわれる。
Mizu ni keitai wo otosu to, kowareru.
If/When you drop a phone in water, it will break.

牛乳ぎゅうにゅうを飲のむと、お腹なかが痛いたくなる。
Gyuunyuu wo nomu to, o-naka ga itaku naru.
My stomach (always) hurts when(ever) I drink milk.

In this case, you can just use 痛いたい(itai) to say your stomach hurts, but using くなる(kunaru) indicates that it didn’t hurt before, but now it does.

カレーを食たべると、お腹が痛いたくなる。
Karee wo taberu to, o-naka ga itaku naru.
My stomach (always) hurts when(ever) I eat curry.

カレーを食たべると、元気げんきになります。
Karee wo taberu to, genki ni narimasu.
I (always) feel energetic when(ever) I eat curry.

アップルパイを食たべると、幸しあわせになります。
Appuru pai wo taberu to, shiawase ni narimasu.
I (always) feel happy when(ever) I eat apple pie.

アップルパイを食たべすぎると、太ふとっちゃう。
Appuru pai wo tabe sugiru to, futocchau.
I (always) get fat when(ever) I eat too many apple pies.

*If you haven’t learned about すぎ(sugi) or ちゃう(chau), you can learn about すぎ in this video and ちゃう in this video.

アップルパイが大だい好すきだけど、食たべすぎると、太ふとっちゃう。
Appuru pai ga daisuki dakedo, tabe sugiru to, futocchau.
I love apple pie, but I get fat when I eat too many.

カレーが大好すきだけど、食たべすぎると、お腹なかが痛いたくなっちゃう。
Karee ga daisuki dakedo, tabe sugiru to, s itaku nacchau.
I love curry, but I get a stomachace when I eat too much.

お酒さけを飲のみすぎると、気持きもち悪わるくなる。
O-sake wo nomi sugiru to, kimochi waruku naru.
I feel nauseated whenever I drink too much alcohol.

緊張きんちょうすると、話はなせなくなる。
Kinchou suru to, hanasenaku naru.
I can’t talk when(ever) I get nervous.

ピーナッツを食たべると、死しんじゃう。
Piinattsu wo taberu to, shinjau.
I will die if I eat peanuts.

ピノキオは嘘うそをつくと、鼻はなが伸のびる。
Pinokio ha uso wo tsuku to, hana ga nobiru.
When Pinocchia lies, his nose grows longer.

Using ない with と

Now, let’s try using ない (nai) to say if we don’t do something, something else will happen. This one is easy; all you have to do is add ない before と.

Aないと、B。
If you don’t do A/If A doesn’t happen, then B.

食たべないと、お腹なかが空すく。
Tabenai to, onaka ga suku.
If you don’t eat, you will get hungry.

眼鏡めがねをかけないと、何なにも見みえない。
Megane wo kakenai to, nani mo mienai.
If I don’t wear glasses, I can’t see anything.

休やすまないと、間違まちがえちゃうよ。
Yasumanai to, machigae-chau yo.
If you don’t rest, you will make a mistake.

ダブルクリックしないと、ファイルが開ひらけないよ。
Daburukurikku shinai to, fairu ga hirakenai yo.
If you don’t double click, you can’t open a file.

*The word 開あく(aku) also means “to open”, but is used for doors and windows. For computer files, you use 開ひらく(hiraku).

ピカチュウが捕つかまえられないと、泣なきたくなる。
Pikachuu ga tsukamaerarenai to, nakitaku naru.
When I can’t catch Pikachu, I feel like crying.

* Here, we take the word 捕つかまえる (tsukamaeru) and change it to its potential form 捕まえられる (tsukamaerareru), which means “can catch”. Add ない to the end, and you get “can not catch”, instead of “don’t catch”. You can learn more about the potential form in this video.

Using と When You’re Surprised

By now, you should understand that we use と when one event happens because of another. However, there is one other condition where we use と.

When you are surprised or shocked to see something, you can use と even if there isn’t a cause-and-effect relationship.

アラジンがランプをこすると、ジーニーが現あらわれました。
Ranpu wo kosuru to, jiinii ga arawaremashita.
When Aladdin rubbed the lamp, Genie appeared.

人形にんぎょうの髪かみを切きると、また髪かみが伸のびました。
Ningyou no kami wo kiru to, mata kami ga nobimashita.
When I cut the doll’s hair, it grew back.

ここを押おすと、痛いたい。
Koko wo osu to, itai.
Whenever I push this spot, it hurts.

Let’s review what we have learned today. と can mean “if” or “when” when there is a cause-and-effect relationship between two events, or if something surprising happens. Otherwise, you should use とき. Of course, there are other ways to say “if”, such as たら(tara) and なら(nara), which we will cover next time.

Thanks for reading to the end. Try using と by yourself!