日本語道場

Nihongo Dojo — N3 → N2

Grammar

N2

~ばそれまでだ

~ba sore made da

if..., that's the end of it

When to use it

Use ~ばそれまでだ to state bluntly that once a certain condition is met, everything is over and there is no recovering — effort, plans, or assets all become meaningless. It typically frames a worst-case scenario in warnings, risk assessments, and negotiation leverage, so it's common in reports, proposals, and pointed remarks in meetings. Often paired with どんなに〜ても or いくら〜ても to stress that prior effort counts for nothing.

Formation

  • Verb: conditional ば-form + それまでだ → 断られればそれまでだ / 失敗すればそれまでだ
  • ~たら form is equally common: 断られたらそれまでだ(やや口語寄り)
  • い-adjective: ~ければ + それまでだ(使用はまれ)→ 品質が悪ければそれまでだ
  • な-adjective / Noun: ~なら・であれば + それまでだ → 赤字であればそれまでだ
  • Polite form: それまでです; past situations take ~ばそれまでだった
  • Frequently preceded by どんなに/いくら~ても and followed by a resigned clause (~しかない、~も無駄になる)

Examples

  • However brilliant the idea, if it isn't carried out, that's the end of it.

  • If the other side comes to distrust us, it's all over.

  • Without a backup, the data is gone and that's that.

  • If the funds run out, that's the end—we'd have no choice but to pull out.

  • We were told that missing the deadline even once would be the end of it.