-았/었더라면

if I had

Explanation

This expression is used to hypothesize a past situation that is the opposite of what actually occurred.

It can express the speaker's feeling of regret or lament with respect to an event in the past as well as relief about not doing something.

The expressions -았/었을 거예요, -았/었을 텐데 and -(으)ㄹ 뻔했다 often follow -았/었더라면.

Details

This expression can be replaced with the expression -았/었다면 or -았/었으면.

오늘도 회사에 늦었더라면 부장님한테 크게 혼났을 거예요.
=오늘도 회사에 늦었다면 부장님한테 크게 혼났을 거예요.
=오늘도 희사에 늦었으면 부장님한테 크게 혼났을 거예요.
If I had been late for work again today, I would've been scolded very much by the director.

While the expression -(느)ㄴ다면 can be used to express both hypothetical and conditional situations, -았/었더라면 can only be used to express hypothetical situations. Moreover, while -(느)ㄴ다면 can be used in both present and past tense hypothetical cases, -았/었더라면 can only be used in past tense hypothetical situations. Finally, in contrast to these two expressions, -(으)면 can be used in all cases.

Kimchi Reader

Used to hypothesize a past situation that is the opposite of what actually happened, usually to express the speaker's regret or disappointment or the relief of not doing it.

Examples
제가 키가 컸<span class='focus'>더라면</span> 모델이 되었을 거예요.
If I had been taller, I would have become a model.
제가 2분 빨리 집을 나갔<span class='focus'>더라면</span> 버스를 안 놓쳤을 거에요.
If I had left home 2 minutes earlier, I wouldn't have missed the bus.
돈을 아껴서 썼<span class='focus'>더라면</span> 다른 사람에게 돈을 빌리지 않아도 됐을 텐데.
If I had saved money, I wouldn't have had to borrow money from others.

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