～てよかったI'm glad that

Structure

Verb［て］+ よかった
［い］Adjective［て］ + よかった
［な］Adjective + で + よかった
Noun + で + よかった

Verb［なくて］^(*) + よかった
Verb［ないで］^(**) + よかった
［い］Adjective［なくて］ + よかった
［な］Adjective＋でなくて + で + よかった
Noun＋でなくて + よかった

^(*) Mostly found in literary/written language
^(**) Mostly found in spoken language

Details

About てよかった

When て (or で when following ない) is paired with the past form of the い-Adjective, いい; てよかった, なくてよかった, or ないでよかった will have the meaning of 'I'm glad that (A)' (when positive), or 'I'm glad that I didn't (A)' (when negative).

The primary difference between なくてよかった and ないでよかった in this expression, is that ないでよかった will be used far more frequently in casual speech. Comparatively, なくてよかった tends to be reserved for books, and may even be considered old-fashioned by some people.

Synonyms

ばよかった
Should have, I wish, It would have been better to
Not studied yet

Examples

--:--

ダイエットを諦(あきら)めなくてよかった。

I'm glad that I didn't give up on my diet.

このレストランにまた来(き)てよかった。

I'm glad that we came to this restaurant again.

勉強(べんきょう)をしてよかったです。

I am glad that I studied.

今日(きょう)はデザートを食(た)べなくてよかったです。

I am glad that I didn't eat dessert today.

このバスに間(ま)に合(あ)ってよかったです。

I am glad that I made it in time for this bus.

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てよかった – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (15 in total)

RadicalC
How about with Nouns and adverbs?
Im glad its not/wasn’t noun/adjective.
thank you
Fuga
Hey there @RadicalC !

With nouns and な-adjectives, you would use じゃない・ではない before this grammar point.

For example if you wanted to say, ‘I’m glad this job is not dangerous’, you would say, この仕事は危険じゃなくてよかった, in Japanese.

I hope this helps!
RadicalC
Yea that’s what I surmised but on the page it doesn’t necessary mention Noun/adjective use so this is why I wondered.