0

I want to say "It would be a waste if I do not have a job that does not make use of my Japanese (ability)."

However, I've no idea which of these options sounds native or what the nuance of each option might be

(1) 日本語を生かす仕事しなかったら、もったいないよ。
(2) 日本語を生かす仕事しなければ、もったいないよ。

Eddie Kal
  • 11,332
  • 5
  • 19
  • 40
davewp
  • 2,252
  • 1
  • 16
  • 30
  • I don’t want to confuse you further but you might consider this third option, too: (3) 日本語を生かす仕事しないと、もったいないよ。 – aguijonazo Mar 15 '22 at 01:27
  • @aguijonazo That grammar doesn't come naturally to me, but "I understand it if I hear it." However, if THAT is what a native says, please write that as the answer. Then, I need to "re-reset" my subjunctive mood settings, because I never speak like that. – davewp Mar 15 '22 at 01:49

1 Answers1

3

The way you ended the sentence and the fact that you omitted を after 仕事 suggest that this is part of an informal conversation. しなければ sounds a bit too formal in it, although it is perfectly fine in a more formal, especially written sentence.

日本語を生かす仕事をしなければ、もったいないと思います。

しなかったら is OK in casual speech, but it could sound a bit dialectal and certainly looks informal in writing. Certain regional dialects tend to use たら more than れば. When I am speaking in Kansai-ben, I would probably say せんかったら (if not せんと).

When I am speaking the standard variant of Japanese, I would most likely use と.

日本語を生かす仕事しないと、もったいないよ。

You get many more search results for しないともったいない than for しなければもったいない or しなかったらもったいない

aguijonazo
  • 15,868
  • 1
  • 10
  • 38