くらいなら

Meaning

くらいなら has two main uses. First, it compares two options and suggests the latter is preferable to the former, often used with expressions like 'the other way is better' or 'it's better to...'. Second, it expresses regret about a past situation, implying 'if this undesirable thing happened, why didn't you do something differently from the start?' The pattern attaches to verb dictionary form, verb past form, or nouns.

Formation

Examples

1. 中途半端にやるくらいなら、やらない方がましだ。
   Doing something halfway is worse than not doing it at all.

2. A:明日提出する卒業論文がまだ書き終わらない、どうしよう。 B:そんなにあせるくらいなら、もっと早く取りかかればよかったのに。
   Person A: My graduation thesis due tomorrow isn't finished yet. What should I do? Person B: If you're going to worry that much, you should have started working on it earlier.

3. 靴の修理代5000円も移鞋費、还不如买双新鞋了。
   Rather than spending 5,000 yen on shoe repairs, you might as well buy a new pair.

4. あの人と一緒に旅行するくらいなら、連休に1人でずっと家にいた方がましだ。
   I'd rather stay home alone the entire holiday than go on a trip with that person.

5. 今こんなに悲しんでいるくらいなら、どうして彼氏に別れを言い出したの?
   If you're going to be this sad now, why did you break up with your boyfriend in the first place?

Summary

• Use くらいなら to express preference between two options, suggesting one alternative is better than another
• Use it to show regret by implying that if an undesirable outcome happened, a different choice should have been made earlier
• Attaches to verb dictionary form (くらいなら), verb past form (たくらいなら), or nouns (名詞くらいなら)