4

I see that 「念のために」 is an expression that means "just in case" in general, but how does one express "I'm going to do A in case B happens"?

For example, "I'm writing in pencil in case I make a mistake." Would that be translated simply as 「間違えるから、鉛筆で書いています。」, or is there a better way to capture the nuance of doing something expressly for the purpose of insurance against some other possible occurrence?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

"I'm writing in pencil in case I make a mistake."

How about...

「間違えてもいいように、鉛筆で書いています。」

or maybe...

「間違えるといけないから、鉛筆で書いています。」

Example:

雨が降ってもいいように、傘を持っていきなさい。
雨が降るといけないから、傘を持っていきなさい。
Take your umbrella in case it rains.

Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    or maybe... 「間違えるかもしれないから、鉛筆で書いています。」「雨が降るかもしれないから、傘を持っていきなさい。」
    – chocolate ♦
    Feb 24, 2019 at 14:18
  • Thanks. Am I correct in thinking the first one means "I'm writing in pencil so that it's okay if I make a mistake" (i.e. mitigating the consequences), and the second "Because it would be bad if I made a mistake, I am writing in pencil" (i.e. mitigating the cause)?
    – db2
    Feb 25, 2019 at 14:21
  • @db2 はい、 yes, precisely!
    – chocolate ♦
    Feb 26, 2019 at 2:19
  • Hooray, the studying is actually working! :D
    – db2
    Feb 26, 2019 at 13:07

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .