93720
I want to say " **It would be a waste if I do not have a job that does not
make use of my Japanese (ability).** "

However, I've no idea which of these options sounds native or what the nuance
of each option might be

(1) 日本語を生かす仕事しなかったら、もったいないよ。  
(2) 日本語を生かす仕事しなければ、もったいないよ。
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-14T22:58:13.397
93716
2022-03-15T03:47:34.483
2022-03-15T00:07:33.803
30454
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question
nuances subjunctive
Nuance of using 仕事しなかったら or 仕事しなければ in this simple sentence?
The way you ended the sentence and the fact that you omitted を after 仕事
suggest that this is part of an informal conversation. しなければ sounds a bit too
formal in it, although it is perfectly fine in a more formal, especially
written sentence.

> 日本語を生かす仕事をしなければ、もったいないと思います。

しなかったら is OK in casual speech, but it could sound a bit dialectal and
certainly looks informal in writing. Certain regional dialects tend to use たら
more than れば. When I am speaking in Kansai-ben, I would probably say せんかったら
(if not せんと).

When I am speaking the standard variant of Japanese, I would most likely use
と.

> 日本語を生かす仕事しない **と** 、もったいないよ。

You get many more search results for
[しないともったいない](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22%E3%81%97%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%E3%81%A8%E3%82%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
than for
[しなければもったいない](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22%E3%81%97%E3%81%AA%E3%81%91%E3%82%8C%E3%81%B0%E3%82%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
or
[しなかったらもったいない](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22%E3%81%97%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%82%89%E3%82%82%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-03-15T03:33:59.873
93720
2022-03-15T03:47:34.483
2022-03-15T03:47:34.483
43676
43676
93716
answer