Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 5: 16/18

一旦(いったん)

Once …, If … for a short time, Temporarily (stop), For now or the time being

一旦 can be rephrased to 一度 but not the other way around

Structure

一旦(いったん) + Verb［ば］
一旦(いったん) + Verb［たら］
一旦(いったん) + Verb + と

Details

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About 一旦

一旦(いったん), an adverb meaning 'for a short time', or 'briefly', is a structure that is used in Japanese to indicate that 'once (A), (B)'. This particular meaning comes from the inclusion of hypothetical structures such as ば, と, or たら, and will usually appear with a negated verb in the (B) part of a sentence. 一旦(いったん) based sentences will indicate that returning to the previous state will be difficult, at least for a short time.
Other common translations include 'for the time being', and 'for now'.
一旦(いったん) will primarily appear at the beginning of sentences, or directly before a ば, と, or たら modified verb.
  • 一旦(いったん)再起動(さいきどう)をすれば、もとに戻(もど)るはずです。
    Once the system is rebooted, it should return to normal.
  • 娘(むすめ)は一旦(いったん)泣(な)き出(だ)したら、しばらく泣(な)き止(や)まないので大変(たいへん)です。
    Once my daughter starts crying, she wont stop for a while, so it can get hard.
  • 一旦(いったん)集中力(しゅうちゅうりょく)が切(き)れてしまうと、再(ふたた)び集中(しゅうちゅう)するのに時間(じかん)がかかる。
    Once I lose focus, it takes me a while to regain my focus.
Fun-fact - 一旦(いったん) originally comes from the noun 一旦(いったん) meaning 'one morning', or 'one brief period'. The 旦(たん) kanji itself signifies 'daybreak' or 'dawn'. In this way, it can be a useful memory tool to remember 一旦(いったん) as the 'dawning' of some period that will not end until it has run its own natural course.

Examples

  • 一旦(いったん)一戸建(いっこだ)てに住(す)めばアパートに戻(もど)れない。

    Once you live in a stand-alone house, you won't be able to go back to an apartment.

  • 一旦(いったん)いつのまにか健康(けんこう)を失(うしな)うなら健康(けんこう)の価値(かち)を理解(りかい)するでしょう。

    Once you lose your health (without you noticing), you will understand its value.

  • 一旦(いったん)これをしたら残(のこ)りをAさんに任(まか)せてください。

    Once you do this, please leave the rest to A-san.

  • 「一旦(いったん)赤(あか)いカプセルを飲(の)むとワンダーランドに帰(かえ)れないだろう。そしてきみにウサギの穴(あな)の奥(おく)を見(み)せよう。」

    'Once you take the red pill, you won't be able to return to Wonderland. And I will show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.'

  • 一旦(いったん)何(なに)かを学(まな)ぶのを止(や)めると再開(さいかい)しにくくなる。

    Once you stop learning something, starting again becomes hard.

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