N4 — outside your level filter
なら
ならnaraN4neutral
Same meaning10
if; when
- ばif — general, lawlike conditionattaches at
- ば〜ほどthe more you do X, the more Y — two things rising togetherattaches at
- ばいいit'd be good to do; you can just do — low-stakes adviceattaches at
- 場合in the case that; if — a scenario named as a conditionattaches at
- 限りas long as; unless — marks the outer edge of what stays trueattaches at
- ものならif only it were possible to; if you were to — disaster followsattaches at
- たらif; when; once — after the condition completesattaches at
- たらいいit'd be good if you did — advice fit to this one caseattaches at
- とwhenever; when — one thing automatically brings the nextattaches at
- としたらsupposing that; if we assume — a hypothesis set up for argument's sakeattaches at
All examples3
if — takes up what was just said, often to advise or offer
京都に行くなら、朝いちばんの新幹線が楽だよ。
kyouto ni iku nara, asa ichiban no shinkansen ga raku da yo.
If you're going to Kyoto, the first shinkansen of the morning is the easy way. casual
中古でもいいなら、半額で手に入りますよ。
chuuko demo ii nara, hangaku de te ni hairimasu yo.
If secondhand is fine with you, you can get it for half price. neutral
as for N — なら picks out what the listener just asked about
部長なら、さっき出かけましたよ。
buchou nara, sakki dekakemashita yo.
He went out a little while ago, if it's the manager you want. neutral
How it's formed3
All forms2
のならnonaracolloquial
味わうのなら
の ties the condition to something clear or just said (行くのなら). The truly spoken clip is んなら.
ならばnarabaformal
味わうならば
Stiff and written — contracts, regulations, academic prose.
Notes
fails, so use 学生なら or 学生なのなら.