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Is the なきゃ like referring to there not being something presently or something?
Or is it more like [the hypothetical idea of not doing something][was
good]...though even if it was that I don't think I understand.
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2023-04-03T14:58:07.547
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question
grammar meaning nuances usage conditionals
Don't understand fully how "なきゃよかった" means if ___ hadn't or if I hadn't ___
You haven't given us much to work with, but we can at least dig into what we
have. :)

## The sample text

  * なきゃよかった

This breaks down to four basic meaning components.

### なきゃ

This is a contraction from なければ. The basic progression:

  * _nakereba_
  * _nakerya_
  * _nakya_

### よかった

This is the past tense of よい, which is also basically the same thing as いい.
(Modern _ii_ is a sound shift from older-and-still-used _yoi_.)

The past tense of modern _-i_ adjectives is in turn a contraction of the basic
adverbial ～く form + あった, the past tense of old copula ("to be" verb) あり that
turned into modern ある・あります.

So the core to understanding this なきゃよかった is understanding the implications of
the ～ばいい construction.

## The meaning of ～ばいい: the general case

The ～ばいい construction literally breaks down more or less like so:

  * ～ば: only if (what ever comes before), then...
  * いい: it's good

Put it together, and this means _" it's only good if `[VERB / ADJ]`"_.
Idiomatically, this is used similarly to English "should".

Examples:

  * あの本を読【よ】めばいい → "it's only good if [I, you, they, etc.] read that book" → "[I, you, they, etc.] should read that book"
  * 気温【きおん】が高【たか】ければいい → "it's only good if the temperature is high" → "it should be warm" (as in, it needs to be warm for some specific purpose, like for plants or for an activity)

## The meaning of ～なきゃよかった: the specific case

So なきゃよかった → なければよかった → "it [was / would only have been] good if not `[VERB /
ADJ]`" → "it shouldn't have been `[VERB / ADJ]`".

Depending on what comes after, this might have different nuances. For
instance, adding a ～のに on the end brings in a sense of regret: _" oh, **if
only** it hadn't have been X..."_

Examples:

  * 値段【ねだん】が高【たか】くなければよかったのに → _" if only the price had not been (as / so) high"_ → implying that they wanted to buy it, but didn't because they considered the price to be too high
  * 眠【ねむ】くなければよかったのに → _" if only I hadn't have been (so) sleepy"_ → implying that they wound up missing out on something

* * *

Please comment if the above does not fully address your question.
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2023-04-03T17:29:28.687
99183
2023-04-04T03:57:58.177
2023-04-04T03:57:58.177
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answer