Let’s learn Japanese with Suletta Mercury’s quote from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (機動戦士ガンダム 水星の魔女, Kidō Senshi Gandamu: Suisei no Majo).
CONTENTS
Video
Suletta Mercury’s Quote
Japanese: 逃げたら一つ、進めば二つ、手に入る。
Romaji: nigetara hitotsu, susumeba futatsu, te ni hairu.
English: If you run you gain one, if you move forward you gain two.
Analysis
逃げたら一つ
逃げたら means “if you run away”. It’s the conditional form of the verb 逃げる meaning “to run away”, used when you leave or escape from a place, person, or situation. To make the conditional form, change the verb into the ta-form and attach ら. For example, 飲む meaning “to drink” becomes 飲んだら (if you drink), 食べる meaning “to eat” becomes 食べたら (if you eat), する meaning “to do” becomes したら (if you do). So 逃げる becomes 逃げたら.
一つ means “one” or “one thing”. The numeral in kanji read as ひと represents “one” and つ is the counter suffix used to count general things or abstract things.
進めば二つ
進めば means “if you move forward”. It’s another conditional form using ば. To make this form, take the dictionary form 進む meaning “to move forward” and switch the last hiragana which is from the う-line to the え-line and attach ば. For example, 飲む becomes 飲めば, 食べる becomes 食べれば, する becomes すれば. So 進む becomes 進めば.
二つ means “two” or “two things”. The numeral in kanji read as ふた represents “two” and it’s followed by the counter suffix つ.
手に入る
Lastly, 手に入る means “to gain” or “obtain”. It’s actually an intransitive verb meaning “(something) comes into a hand”, but you can translate it as “to gain or obtain (something)”.
So 逃げたら一つ、進めば二つ、手に入る means “if you run away, one, if you move forward, two, you gain”. The last verb is combined with both 一つ and 二つ so you can also say 逃げたら一つ手に入る。進めば二つ手に入る (if you run away, one, if you move forward, two, . But you can leave out the repeated verb and make it into one sentence. In Japanese, the main verb comes at the end of the sentence so the first verb should be left out.
Difference Between たら and ば
たら and ば can often replace each other in hypothetical sentences. However, ば is usually used with a good result, whereas たら doesn’t have that kind of restriction so the result can be good or bad.
For example, “if you stay here, you’ll be safe” in Japanese can be “ここにいたら安全です” or “ここにいれば安全です”. They’re both correct as the result “you’ll be safe” is something you hope for.
But if the result is 危険です meaning “you’ll be in danger”, ここにいれば危険です sounds weird as “being in danger” is something you want to avoid. So in this case, ここにいたら危険です is suitable as たら can be used with a bad result.
逃げたら一つ、進めば二つ手に入る
The results, gaining one and gaining two are not expressed as the “bad result” so they can actually replace each other, such as 逃げれば一つ、進んだら二つ手に入る. But the main point of this quote is to encourage someone to move forward in order to gain two things, such as experience, pride, and even trust, which is much better than gaining one thing, “not losing”. By using ば, the result 二つ手に入る can be expressed as a favourable result which helps persuade someone to move forward.
Examples
〜たら & ば (if)
どう【したら／すれば】日本語がうまくなりますか。
dō [shitara/sureba] nihongo ga umaku narimasu ka.
What should I do so that I can improve my Japanese?
コーヒーを【飲んだら／飲めば】、目が覚めるかも。
kōhī o [nondara/nomeba], me ga sameru kamo.
If you drink some coffee, you might feel more awake.
商品を二つ【買ったら／買えば】、無料でもう一つもらえます。
shōhin o futatsu [kattara/kaeba], muryō de mō hitotsu moraemasu.
If you buy two items, you can get another one for free.
たら and ば are basically interchangeable when;
- it’s a hypothetical condition (if A happens, B will happen), and
- the result clause doesn’t have expressions of one’s volition, invitation, request, command, etc.
春になれば（△なったら）桜が咲く。
haru ni nareba (△nattara), sakura ga saku.
When the spring comes, the cherry blossoms will bloom.
It’s not hypothetical (it’s general truth). In this case, たら is usually acceptable in casual speech.
見つけたら（見つければ）電話して。
mitsuketara (
mitsukereba), denwa shite.If you find it, call me.
It’s hypothetical but 電話して is a request. In this case, you can only use たら.
EXCEPTION:
If the subject of each clause is different, or if the condition expresses the state of being, the result clause can have expressions of one’s volition, invitations, requests, commands, etc. In this case, you can also use ば.
問題が【あったら／あれば】電話して。
mondai ga [attara/areba] denwa shite.
If there is a problem, call me.
The verb ある expresses the state “to be” so the request (電話して) can be used in the result clause.
TIPS:
-
A sentence with ば focuses on the condition rather than the result as the condition is essential in order to achieve the result, which also means, if you don’t meet the condition, you can’t realise what you want. On the other hand, たら doesn’t have that kind of nuance. It’s simply used to show a certain condition that leads to the result. So it rather focuses on the result than the condition.
-
Depending on the region, たら is more commonly used than ば, especially in the Kansai-region including the major cities of Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara.
- Negative form + ば can be used with a bad result.
家の中にいなければ危険だよ。
ie no naka ni inakereba kiken dayo.
If you don’t stay inside the house, you’ll be in danger.
- There are fixed phrases which is commonly used with ば instead of たら.
やればできる。
yareba dekiru.
If you try, you can do it.
used when encouraging someone to do something
話せばわかる。
hanaseba wakaru.
If we talk, we can understand each other.
used when persuading someone to talk, especially when there is conflict
手に入る (to gain/obtain)
上質なワインが手に入ったので、飲みませんか？
jōshitsu na wain ga te ni haitta node, nomimasen ka?
I got good quality wine, would you like to drink it?
今は、なんでもインターネットで簡単に手に入る。
ima wa, nandemo intānetto de kantan ni te ni hairu.
Nowadays, you can easily get anything on the internet.
願っているだけでは、欲しいものは手に入らない。
negatte iru dake dewa hoshii mono wa te ni hairanai.
Wishing alone won’t get you what you want.
手に入る is an intransitive verb meaning “(something) comes into a hand” which doesn’t express one’s volition, so it can be used with the condition たら/ば (see the note of “〜たら & ば”).
On the other hand, 手に入れる is a transitive verb meaning “to put (something) into a hand” which is volitional, so it cannot be used with the condition たら/ば in this usage.
逃げたら一つ、進めば二つ、手に入る（
手に入れる）。nigetara hitotsu, susumeba futatsu, te ni hairu (
te ni ireru).If you run you gain one, if you move forward you gain two.
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