-았/었더라면

deoramyeon

Grammar · 1 sense

if only I had - but I didn't

Examples

우산을 가져왔더라면 비를 안 맞았을 텐데요.

If I'd brought an umbrella, I wouldn't have got wet.

그때 말했더라면 지금 이렇게 되지 않았을 거예요.

Had I spoken up then, things wouldn't be like this now.

When you'd hear it

It appears in reflective speech and writing about missed chances or imagining a different past, including dramas and personal conversations. It is neutral in register, and often appears with endings such as -을 텐데요.

What learners get wrong

Counterfactual: it did not happen, and you are imagining that it had. 조금만 일찍 출발했더라면 늦지 않았을 텐데. The second clause almost always carries -았/었을 텐데 or -았/었을 것이다, which is what makes the regret audible.

You looked up -았/었더라면 — Ipsae makes sure you still know it in three weeks.

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