たら

Japanese

Etymology 1

Particle

たら • (tara) 

1. Follows a past-tense subordinate clause of condition; if; when.
2. after doing something

Usage notes

Attaches to verbs and adjectives in the same way as た (-ta).

This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. In traditional Japanese grammar, it is treated as the kateikei of the auxiliary verb た (-ta).　

For the differences between たら and なら, please see なら.

See also

• なら (nara)

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Attested in Shosōin documents spelled variously as 多羅, 太良, and 太羅. In turn, possibly borrowed from an ancestor of Korean 달 (dal, “reed”).

Already fell into disuse sometime after the Heian period, as the last dictionaries to mention this was the Shinsen Jikyō of 898-901, and the Wamyō Ruijiushō of 934.

Noun

たら • (tara) 

1. (obsolete) knotweed

   Synonym: 蓼 (tade)

   • Shōjū with Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (898–901) Shinsen Jikyō (Zōteiban) (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, published 15 December 1967, →ISBN.

     蓼 太豆 又太良

     Knotweed: tado (sic. tade) or tara

Old Japanese

Etymology

Possibly borrowed from an ancestor of Korean 달 (dal, “reed”).

Noun

たら (transliteration needed)

1. knotweed

Descendants

• Japanese: たら (tara, obsolete)