JLPT N4

～ばよかった

Should have/If only I had

Structure

Verb (え-form) + ばよかった

How it works

This grammar point is used to express regret about a past action or inaction, meaning 'I should have done X' or 'If only I had done X'. It conveys a sense of wishing things were different.

Examples

もっと勉強すればよかった。

I should have studied more.

Common mistakes

Treating '～たらよかった' and '～ばよかった' as different; both express regret about actions that *should* have been done.

Tip

Remember the 'ば' conditional form, but with 'よかった' at the end to express 'it would have been good if'.

More JLPT N4 grammar

ようにするようになるそうだ (appearance)そうだ (hearsay)ようだらしいかもしれないてしまう

See ～ばよかった in real Japanese

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