と — If/When (Automatic-Result Conditional)
Expresses an automatic or inevitable consequence: whenever A happens, B naturally/always follows. Used for natural laws, operating instructions, and directions.
Structure
[Plain non-past verb] + と + [natural result]
Examples
春になると、桜が咲く。
Haru ni naru to, sakura ga saku.
When spring comes, the cherry blossoms bloom.
なる + と = a natural/seasonal automatic result
このボタンを押すと、ドアが開く。
Kono botan o osu to, doa ga aku.
When you press this button, the door opens.
押す + と = automatic result of the operation
この道をまっすぐ行くと、右に銀行があります。
Kono michi o massugu iku to, migi ni ginkou ga arimasu.
If you go straight down this road, there's a bank on the right.
行く + と = automatic result, used for giving directions
• と cannot be followed by a request, command, or invitation in the second clause (use たら for those). • 右に曲がると、駅があります = if you turn right, there's a station (giving directions). • Great for: operating manuals, recipes, directions, and general truths.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones と is tested against.
vs たら
たら is the most flexible conditional and CAN take a request/command/invitation afterward (着いたら電話して). と cannot — it only states an automatic result.
vs ば
ば is hypothetical/general ('if') and often used with states; と stresses an inevitable, repeatable A→B result and only takes plain non-past before it.
vs なら
なら responds to a topic just raised ('if that's the case / speaking of X'); と gives an automatic consequence, not a contextual response.
More conditionals
Study Japanese grammar on LenGaki
Everything on this page, free to browse
- 7,788 JLPT vocabulary words, N5 through N1, with readings and audio
- 2,057 kanji with on'yomi, kun'yomi and stroke-order practice
- 444 grammar points with examples and commonly-confused comparisons
- Full-length N5 and N4 mock exams, timed, with real listening audio
Get the Android app