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I agree that ～たら is one practical tool that could express lots of meanings.
but sometimes it became one problem for students of japanese.

If I say:

  * 日本に行ったら、友達を訪ねます。

it's : If I go to Japan, I will visit my friend.(?)  
or: When I get to Japan, I will visit my friend.(?)

  * 卒業したら、旅行したいと思います。

it's : If I graduate (it's a possibility), I want to travel.  
or: After graduating (it's certain), I'm think of traveling.

.

Does the meaning depend on the context? or Is there a better way to say that
sentences?
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2011-08-17T03:37:22.733
2686
2011-08-17T03:51:38.667
2011-08-17T03:51:38.667
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question
usage
「Verb + たら」always have ambiguous meanings?
These examples sound more like "when" to me. If you wanted to emphasize an
"if", you could add もし to the beginning.

  * もし日本に行ったら、．．．
  * もし卒業したら、．．．

However, "when" may also carry a bit of uncertainty to it, so it's a little
ambiguous. "When I go to Japan..." You might be certain that you're going and
it's just in the future at this point, or you may be speculating, as in "If I
ever go."

You could also use a different construct to force this. Refer to [this
important post](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/393/differences-
among-etc) for more options and their rules.
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2011-08-17T03:45:25.340
2688
2011-08-17T03:45:25.340
2017-04-13T12:43:44.740
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answer