ばよかった — I wish I had / Should have
Expresses regret that something was NOT done. "I should have done X / I wish I had done X." A counterfactual expression.
Structure
[Verb ば-form] + よかった
Examples
傘を持ってくればよかった。
Kasa wo motte kureba yokatta.
I should have brought an umbrella.
持ってくれば + よかった = wish I had brought it
もっと早く来ればよかった。
Motto hayaku kureba yokatta.
I wish I had come earlier.
来れば (くれば) + よかった = regret about not coming earlier
学生のとき、もっと勉強すればよかった。
Gakusei no toki, motto benkyou sureba yokatta.
I should have studied more when I was a student.
勉強すれば + よかった = regret about not studying more
• Key Concept: ばよかった = regret over NOT doing (should have). • Detail: てよかった = relief over HAVING done (good thing I did). • Negative: しなければよかった = I wish I hadn't done it.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ばよかった is tested against.
vs 〜てよかった
ばよかった = regret that you didn't do something; てよかった = relief/gladness that you DID do something (来てよかった = glad I came).
vs 〜なければよかった
ばよかった regrets NOT doing X; なければよかった regrets HAVING done X ('I wish I hadn't ~').
More expressions
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