# ば

| ば | U+3070, &#12400; HIRAGANA LETTER BA |
| Composition: | は [U+306F] + ◌゙ [U+3099] |
| ← は [U+306F] | Hiragana | ぱ → [U+3071] |

## Japanese
### Etymology 1

The hiragana character は (ha) with a dakuten (゛).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ba̠]

#### Syllable

ば • (ba)
* The hiragana syllable ば (ba). Its equivalent in katakana is バ (ba).

##### See also

* (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こ𛄲 (𛄲)ご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, 𛀆, ゆゅ, 𛀁, よょ, らら゚, りり゚, るる゚, れれ゚, ろろ゚, わゎわ゙, ゐ𛅐 (𛅐)ゐ゙, 𛄟 (𛄟), ゑ𛅑 (𛅑)ゑ゙, を𛅒 (𛅒)を゙, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

### Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū, completed 759 CE.
Originally an extension of the topic particle は (wa), for which the Old Japanese pronunciation is reconstructed as */pa/. The pa changes to ba as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ba̠]
* In the Tokyo dialect, when -ば attaches to a verb, the resulting pitch accent depends on the lexical pitch accent of the verb:
   * When attaching to a 平板式 (heiban-shiki) verb, the アクセント核 (akusento-kaku, “accent kernel”) falls on the mora before the -ば:
          言(い)う (iu): いう [iu] (Heiban – [0]) → いえ​ば [ieꜜba] (Nakadaka)
          寝(ね)る (neru): ねる [neru] (Heiban – [0]) → ねれ​ば [nereꜜba] (Nakadaka)
   * When attaching to a 起伏式 (kifuku-shiki) verb, the アクセント核 (akusento-kaku, “accent kernel”) falls on the mora before the mora before the -ば:
          書(か)く (kaku): か​く [kaꜜku] (Atamadaka – [1]) → か​けば [kaꜜkeba] (Atamadaka – [1])
          出来(でき)る (dekiru): でき​る [dekiꜜru] (Nakadaka) → でき​れば [dekiꜜreba] (Nakadaka)
   * As per usual, if the mora the アクセント核 (akusento-kaku, “accent kernel”) would fall on is unable to carry the accent, the accent is shifted accordingly:
       買(か)う (kau): かう (Heiban – [0]) → か​えば [kaꜜeba] (Atamadaka – [1]) (*かえ​ば [kaeꜜba] (Nakadaka))

#### Particle

ば • (-ba)
* In Modern Japanese, attaches to the kateikei, and in Classical Japanese, attaches to the mizenkei, to express the hypothetical condition: if
    雨(あめ)が降(ふ)れば遠(えん)足(そく)を中(ちゅう)止(し)する。
       Ame ga fureba ensoku o chūshi suru.
       If it rains, we will suspend our trip.
    急(いそ)がば回(まわ)れ ― isogaba maware ― If you rush, you'll go round → more haste, less speed
* In Modern Japanese, attaches to the kateikei, and in Classical Japanese, attaches to the izenkei, to express the precondition for something to happen: if; when
    雨(あめ)が降(ふ)れば道(みち)が濡(ぬ)れる。
       Ame ga fureba michi ga nureru.
       The road gets wet when it rains.
** c. late 9th–mid-10th century, Taketori Monogatari
    それを見(み)れば、三(さん)寸(すん)ばかりなる人(ひと)いと美(うつく)しうて居(ゐ)たり。
       Sore o mireba, sansun bakari naru hito ito utsukushūte itari.
       When he looked at it, there sat a very lovely human being about three sun long.
** 2007, “キラメキラリ”, in yura [yura] (lyrics), 神前暁 (music), THE IDOLM@STER MASTER ARTIST 02 高槻やよい:
    宇(う)宙(ちゅう)から見(み)れば地(ち)球(きゅう)も流(なが)れ星(ぼし)
       uchū kara mireba chikyū mo nagareboshi
       If you see from the universe the earth is also a shooting star
* In the form …ば…ほど (… ba … hodo): the more …, the more
    学(まな)べば学(まな)ぶほど、何(なに)も知(し)らなかった事(こと)に気(き)づく
       Manabeba manabu hodo, nani mo shiranakatta koto ni kizuku
       The more I learned, the more I felt I didn't know anything.
* Links sentences parallel in meaning. The sentences usually incorporate a も (mo): … and …
    日(に)本(ほん)語(ご)もできれば英(えい)語(ご)もできる
       nihongo mo dekireba eigo mo dekiru
       to be able to speak both Japanese and English
* (archaic) In the form mizenkei + ば (ba) + meireikei on the same verb: it doesn't matter if …; may as well
    死(し)なば死(し)ね ― shinaba shine ― I might as well die.
* (archaic) In Modern Japanese, attaches to the kateikei, and in Classical Japanese, attaches to the izenkei, to express the reason or cause: because; as
    雨(あめ)降(ふ)れば運(うん)動(どう)会(かい)は中(ちゅう)止(し)せり。
       Ame fureba undōkai wa chūshi seri.
       The sports meeting is suspended due to rain.
** 1901, 慶應義塾, 修身要領
    結(けっ)婚(こん)は人(じん)生(せい)の重(じゅう)大(だい)事(じ)なれば配(はい)偶(ぐう)の選(せん)択(たく)は最(もっと)も慎(しん)重(ちょう)ならざる可(べか)らず
       kekkon wa jinsei no jūdaiji nareba haigū no sentaku wa motto mo shinchō narazaru bekarazu
       Since marriage is a major event in life, the choice of a spouse has to be the most cautious.
** 1904, 芳賀矢一, 中等教科明治文典:
    第(だい)六(ろく)活(かつ)用(よう)形(けい)の「死(し)ね」は命(めい)令(れい)をいふときに用(もち)ゐる形(かたち)なれば命(めい)令(れい)形(けい)といふ。
       Dairoku katsuyōkei no “shine” wa meirei o iu toki ni mochiiru katachi nareba meireikei to iu.
       The sixth conjugated form shine is the form used when expressing a command, so it's called the imperative form.

##### Usage notes

| non-accented word | dictionary form | kateikei + -ba | accented word | dictionary form | kateikei + -ba |
| godan verbs (type 1) ||||||
| 聞く | きく (kìkú) | きけば (kìkéꜜbà) | 書く | かく (káꜜkù) | かけば (káꜜkèbà) |
| 嗅ぐ | かぐ (kàgú) | かげば (kàgéꜜbà) | 泳ぐ | およぐ (òyóꜜgù) | およげば (òyóꜜgèbà) |
| 貸す | かす (kàsú) | かせば (kàséꜜbà) | 話す | はなす (hànáꜜsù) | はなせば (hànáꜜsèbà) |
| 取り持つ | とりもつ (tòrímótsú) | とりもてば (tòrímótéꜜbà) | 立つ | たつ (táꜜtsù) | たてば (táꜜtèbà) |
| 死ぬ | しぬ (shìnú) | しねば (shìnéꜜbà) | 凍え死ぬ | こごえしぬ (kògóéshíꜜnù) | こごえしねば (kògóéshíꜜnèbà) |
| 呼ぶ | よぶ (yòbú) | よべば (yòbéꜜbà) | 選ぶ | えらぶ (èráꜜbù) | えらべば (èráꜜbèbà) |
| 望む | のぞむ (nòzómú) | のぞめば (nòzóméꜜbà) | 読む | よむ (yóꜜmù) | よめば (yóꜜmèbà) |
| 終わる | おわる (òwárú) | おわれば (òwáréꜜbà) | 作る | つくる (tsùkúꜜrù) | つくれば (tsùkúꜜrèbà) |
| 言う | いう (ìú) | いえば (ìéꜜbà) | 会う | あう (áꜜù) | あえば (áꜜèbà) |
| 追う | おう (òú) | おえば (òéꜜbà) | 食う | くう (kúꜜù) | くえば (kúꜜèbà) |
| kami ichidan verbs (type 2a) ||||||
| 似る | にる (nìrú) | にれば (nìréꜜbà) | 見る | みる (míꜜrù) | みれば (míꜜrèbà) |
| 借りる | かりる (kàrírú) | かりれば (kàríréꜜbà) | 生きる | いきる (ìkíꜜrù) | いきれば (ìkíꜜrèbà) |
| 感じる | かんじる (kàńjírú) | かんじれば (kàńjíréꜜbà) | 用いる | もちいる (mòchííꜜrù) | もちいれば (mòchííꜜrèbà) |
| shimo ichidan verbs (type 2b) ||||||
| 寝る | ねる (nèrú) | ねれば (nèréꜜbà) | 出る | でる (déꜜrù) | でれば (déꜜrèbà) |
| 開ける | あける (àkérú) | あければ (àkéréꜜbà) | 食べる | たべる (tàbéꜜrù) | たべれば (tàbéꜜrèbà) |
| 忘れる | わすれる (wàsúrérú) | わすれれば (wàsúréréꜜbà) | 助ける | たすける (tàsúkéꜜrù) | たすければ (tàsúkéꜜrèbà) |
| 憧れる | あこがれる (àkógárérú) | あこがれれば (àkógáréréꜜbà) | 訪れる | おとずれる (òtózúréꜜrù) | おとずれれば (òtózúréꜜrèbà) |
| nidan verbs (type 2a/b, Literary Japanese) ||||||
| 開く | あく (àkú) | あくれば (àkúréꜜbà) | 眺む | ながむ (nàgáꜜmù) | ながむれば (nàgámúꜜrèbà) |
| irregular verbs (type 3) ||||||
| する | する (sùrú) | すれば (sùréꜜbà) | 来る | くる (kúꜜrù) | くれば (kúꜜrèbà) |
| adjectives ||||||
| 重い | おもい (òmóí) | おもければ (òmóꜜkèrèbà) | 高い | たかい (tàkáꜜì) | たかければ (táꜜkàkèrèbà) たかければ (tàkáꜜkèrèbà) |
| copula ||||||
| | | | だ | だ | なら ならば (old-fashioned) なれば (archaic "because") |
| | | | である | である | であれば |
| | | | なり | なり | なれば |
| negative forms ||||||
| 行かない | いかない (ìkánáí) | いかなければ (ìkánáꜜkèrèbà) | 作らない | つくらない (tsùkúráꜜnàì) | つくらなければ (tsùkúráꜜnàkèrèbà) |
| 行かぬ | いかぬ (ìkánú) | いかねば | 作らぬ | つくらぬ (tsùkúráꜜnù) | つくらねば |
| 行かず | いかず (ìkázú) | いかざれば | 作らず | つくらず (tsùkúráꜜzù) | つくらざれば |
| past/perfect forms (Literary Japanese) ||||||
| 行きたり | ゆきたり | ゆきたれば | | | |
(Part of the accent information comes from the Online Japanese Accent Dictionary.)
| word | dictionary form | mizenkei + -ba |
| godan verbs (type 1) |||
| 聞く | きく | きかば |
| 急ぐ | いそぐ | いそがば |
| 貸す | かす | かさば |
| 立つ | たつ | たたば |
| 死ぬ | しぬ | しなば |
| 呼ぶ | よぶ | よばば |
| 読む | よむ | よまば |
| 作る | つくる | つくらば |
| 言ふ | いふ | いはば |
| ichidan verbs (type 2) |||
| 見る | みる | みば |
| nidan verbs (type 2) |||
| 起く | おく | おきば |
| 助く | たすく | たすけば |
| irregular verbs (type 3) |||
| す | す | せば |
| 来 | く | こば |
| adjectives |||
| 高し | たかし | たかからば たかくば (supplementary) たかくんば (supplementary) |
| 美し | うつくし | うつくしからば うつくしくば (supplementary) うつくしくんば (supplementary) |
| 同じ | おなじ | おなじからば おなじくば (supplementary) おなじくんば (supplementary) |
| copulas |||
| なり | なり | ならば |
| たり | たり | たらば |
| negative forms |||
| 行かず | ゆかず | ゆかざらば ゆかずば (supplementary) ゆかずんば (supplementary) |
| past/perfect forms |||
| 行きたり | ゆきたり | ゆきたらば |
| | Classical Japanese | Modern Japanese |
| Hypothetical condition ("if, suppose that") | 未然形 (mizenkei) + ば | 仮定形 (kateikei) + ば |
| Precondition ("if, provided that, when, whenever") | 已然形 (izenkei) + ば | 仮定形 (kateikei) + ば |
| Reason or cause ("since, as, because") | 已然形 (izenkei) + ば | - |
This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary word; particle”) in traditional Japanese grammar.

##### Synonyms

* (hypothetical condition): なら (nara), ならば (naraba)
* (precondition): と (to)
* (may as well): ともかまわない (tomo kamawanai)
* (reason, cause): から (kara), ので (node)

### Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of ば – see the following entry. :
| 【場】2 | [noun] [from 1275] a place [noun] [from 1701] a situation, the circumstances of a particular place and time [noun] [from 1825] an act, a section of a play [noun] [from 1888] (physics) a field [noun] [from 1893] a trading floor, as in a market or exchange [counter] [from 1825] an act, a section of a play |
(This term, ば (ba), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.) For a list of all kanji read as ば, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ば.) :

### Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of ば – see the following entries. :
| 【馬】2 | [affix] horse |
| 【婆】S | [affix] old woman, crone [affix] Used in Sanskrit transliterations |
| 【罵】S | [affix] abuse; insult |
(This term, ば (ba), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.) For a list of all kanji read as ば, see Category:Japanese kanji read as ば.) :

### Etymology 5

Contraction of をば (o ba), itself composed of the object particle を (o) + contrastive and emphatic particle は (wa), which voices to ば (ba) due to rendaku (連濁).
First cited to a text from the early 1800s.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ba̠]

#### Particle

ば • (ba)
* [from early 1800s] (dialectal, Kyūshū) object marker
    Synonym: (standard Japanese) を (o)

##### Usage notes

May be encountered more commonly where the portion before the particle ends in an /o/ sound or the nasal ん (n), phonological contexts where the /o/ sound of the particle を (o) would be expected to contract.

### References

* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* 1 2 “ば”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Kitahara, Yasuo, editor (2010), 明鏡国語辞典 [Meikyō Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, →ISBN