たら～で / たら～たで

たら～で says that if something does happen, that outcome brings trouble of its own. The same word appears twice: first as a たら conditional, then in the た-form with で – いったら行ったらいった行ったで, やすかったら安かったらやすかった安かったで, ひま暇だったらひま暇だったで.

The second half takes た, not たら or the dictionary form. It repeats only the word itself: the subject or object goes once, before the first half, as お金が does here.

• × 買ったら買ったらで → 買ったら買ったで
• × あったらあるで → あったらあったで

With a する verb, either the whole verb or just した repeats: ごうかく合格したらごうかく合格したで or ごうかく合格したらしたで.

An い-adjective goes into its かったら form, and a な-adjective or a noun takes だったら and then だったで.

A no-win choice

Put two side by side, one for each option, and you have a dilemma: whichever way it goes, there is a problem. The second is often the negative of the first, and the two are joined with し.

Usage notes

These go beyond naming a catch.

"If it happens, so be it"

The same frame can shrug the outcome off: if it happens, you'll deal with it then. The second half often ends in ばいい.

ば～で

なら～で

A な-adjective or a noun can also take なら and then plain で.