場合(ばあい)はIn the event of, In the case of

Structure

Verb + 場合(ばあい)(は)
［い］Adjective + 場合(ばあい)(は)
［な］Adjective + な + 場合(ばあい)(は)
Noun + の + 場合(ばあい)(は)

Details

About ばあいは

場合(ばあい)は is a phrase in Japanese that is often translated to 'in the event of (A)', or 'in the case of (A)'. It can be used with almost any type of word, but will require な when following a な-Adjective, or の when following a noun.

場合(ばあい) by itself is usually translated as 'case', or 'situation'. It is frequently used to highlight a hypothetical situation, or a viewpoint/characteristic of another person.

When 場合(ばあい)は is highlighting a viewpoint/characteristic of another person, this is almost always in contrast/comparison to something that is already being discussed. This is an example of the contrastive nuance of the は particle.

Caution

In relation to a situation, because 場合(ばあい) means 'to encounter (A)', it has a nuance of randomness. Due to this, 場合(ばあい)は will not be used to describe events that regularly occur, or events that can be planned/controlled.

学校(がっこう)に行(い)く場合(ばあい)は早(はや)く起(お)きます。

If I were to go to school, I would wake up early. (Unnatural Japanese, unless going to school is an unusual thing for this person)
学校(がっこう)に行(い)くときは早(はや)く起(お)きます。

When I go to school, I wake up early. (Natural Japanese, if going to school is a regular thing for this person)
あしたのパーティーに来(く)る場合(ばあい)はビールを持(も)って来(き)てください。

In the event that you will come to tomorrow's party, please bring some beer. (Focuses on the possibility of coming)
あしたのパーティーに来(く)るときにビールを持(も)って来(き)てください。

When you come to the party, bring some beer with you. (Focuses on the request)

Examples

--:--

危険(きけん)な場合(ばあい)はここに電話(でんわ)をしてください。

In the event that it is dangerous, please call me.

私(わたし)の犬(いぬ)の場合(ばあい)は家族(かぞく)と一緒(いっしょ)です。

In the case of my dog, he is like family.

遊(あそ)んでいる場合(ばあい)は、危(あぶ)ないことをしないで。

In the case that you are playing, don't do anything dangerous.

この商品(しょうひん)が売(う)り切(き)れの場合(ばあい)は買(か)えないよ。

You cannot buy this product in the event that it is out of stock.

山(やま)が崩(くず)れている場合(ばあい)は運転(うんてん)をしないでください。

In the event of the mountain crumbling, please do not drive. (In the event of a landslide)

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ばあいは – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (12 in total)

Pushindawood
in the event of
in the case of
Structure
- Verb + 場合・(は)
- い-Adjective + 場合・(は)
- Noun + の・場合・(は)
- な-Adjective + な・場合・(は)
[can indicate a hypothetical event or describe a characteristic of someone/something (“as for…”)]

View on Bunpro
snugglesnacks
I’m a bit confused about when to add “は” afterward. The first two readings use it pretty consistently in each case, and in the Bunpro examples, only answers including “は” are considered correct. However, the Japanese Stack Exchange reading pretty clearly states that it is optional only, usually if you want to emphasize the first part / conditional phrase.

Any thoughts?
mrnoone
Hey and sorry for the late answer!

Basically you can skip it in every example and meaning won’t change. Though I personally would say that it would be good to write comma at least to avoid possible confusion.

So:

危険な場合はここに電話をしてください。better not omit は, since it can cause confusion.

危険な場合（は）、ここに電話をしてください。safe to omit は

Cheers,
snugglesnacks
OK thanks!
siditious
I got this response:
ಠ_ಠ
and frankly I deserved it.
Johnathan-Weir
I think you add a note that it’s sometimes pronounced ばわい. Not sure if it’s a dialect thing but I’ve run into it several times on grammar YouTube channels.
Pushindawood
@Johnathan-Weir Hey! While you may have come across it, ばわい or ばやい are not valid readings for 場合 and should be avoided. Just like 知り合い, 組合, 試合, etc. 合 is always read “あい.” Source. Cheers!
Johnathan-Weir
@Pushindawood That’s what I figured since the reading wasn’t listed in the dictionary (except under a different entry) but since it was a native speaker using it I thought I’d bring it up.
nekoyama
The 日本国語大辞典 app actually acknowledges ばやい:

ば‐あい‥あひ【場合】
〘名〙（「ばやい」とも）

I only looked it up now, I used to think it’s just a-a sometimes sounding a little bit like one of the others but not really quite enough to spell it out…

(Usually if this is the only dictionary that lists something, it means we shouldn’t do it. )
Pep95
image.png901×283 20.2 KB
Kamikazen
I got the same response and had no idea what it meant. Even after reading this thread… it took me a while (and a incorrect answer) to figure it out. Haha
Bidjou34
Hello,

I am wondering what is the difference between using ばあいは and には to say “as for…”.

わたしの犬いぬのばあいはかぞくといっしょです
and
わたしの犬いぬにはかぞくといっしょです

Look like they have the same meaning to me.
What do you think?
Zutari
Many of the entries have a fun fact or caution. I have been confused several times in conversations hearing it as ばわい or ばやい. Since the point of learning Japanese is to be able to communicate and participate in Japanese conversation, I think it’s worth mentioning on the page. @mrnoone What do you think?