N1 Conditions, Dependencies, and Consequences

~ばそれまでだ / ~たらそれまでだ: meaning, usage and examples

~ばそれまでだ / ~たらそれまでだ means: if... then it's all over / if... that's the end of it.

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. どんなに高たかい車くるまでも、事故じこを起おこしてしまえばそれまでだ。

   No matter how expensive a car is, if you get in an accident, that's the end of it.

2. 一度いちど信頼しんらいを失うしなったらそれまでだ。

   Once you lose trust, it's all over.

3. どんなに良よい計画けいかくも、実行じっこうしなければそれまでだ。

   Even the best plan means nothing if you do not carry it out.

4. どんなに高たかいカメラも、落おとして壊こわれたらそれまでだ。

   However expensive a camera is, once you drop it and it breaks, that is the end of it.

When to use it

Means "if X happens, that is the end of it" or "if X, it is all for nothing." The speaker points out that one event would make all earlier effort, value or chances meaningless. For example, どんなに良よい計画けいかくも、実行じっこうしなければそれまでだ (even the best plan means nothing if you do not carry it out).

Nuance

A sober, slightly resigned remark, used in speech and writing. The result is always loss or futility. Often paired with いくら / どんなに ... ても in the first half. It can also mean "if X, there is nothing more to discuss": 断ことわられればそれまでだ.

Compare

Compare たが最後さいご: 一度いちど寝ねたが最後さいご、起おきない stresses that a bad situation then continues without stopping. ばそれまでだ stresses that everything ends or becomes worthless: 壊こわれたらそれまでだ. Also compare ても仕方しかたがない, which says an action is useless but not that something is lost.

Tip: Pair it in your head with "all that effort, gone." If the sentence describes something being lost or wasted at one stroke, それまでだ fits.