Japanese with Manga

If anything happens, Conan will protect me with いざとなったら

Grammar Explanation: When the time comes with いざ〜となると

Ayumi leans toward Conan with a big smile. Conan looks back at her, startled and sweating. Below them, a wider view of a park bench shows an old man reading a newspaper. Conan sits hidden behind the open paper, and Ayumi peeks out from behind the man's shoulder.
名探偵コナン » Volume 9 » Page 10

During a game of hide-and-seek in the park, Conan hides on a bench behind an old man’s newspaper. The paper reports a fourth victim of a kidnapper who kills pretty girls. Ayumi is hiding on the same bench. She jokes that a girl like her must be in real danger, but says she isn’t worried.

歩美(あゆみ):
「いざとなったらコナン君(くん)が守(まも)ってくれるもんね！」
“If anything happens, you'll protect me, right?”
コナン:
「え？」
“Huh?”

Key Points

1いざとなったら = “if it comes to that”
  • いざとなったら sets up an emergency the speaker can picture but hopes won’t happen. Here, it’s the kidnapper coming after Ayumi.
  • What follows is the backup plan. If the worst happens, Conan will step in.
  • いざとなれば means the same thing. The たら and ば conditionals both make it an “if”.
2コナン君(くん)が守(まも)ってくれる
  • 守(まも)る means “protect”. くれる after the て-form makes the protection a favor done for the speaker.
  • が marks Conan as the one who acts. Nobody says who gets protected, because くれる already points at Ayumi.
  • Ayumi uses Conan’s name while talking to him. Japanese often uses a name where English would say “you”.
3もんね gives her reason
  • もん gives a reason in a casual, childlike way. Here it’s her reason for not worrying.
  • ね asks Conan to agree, which puts him on the spot. That’s why he says え？

Vocabulary

(Actually, for real)

いざ marks the moment something stops being a plan and has to be done for real, as in いざ買(か)うとなると, “when it actually comes to buying”. On its own, it’s an old-fashioned “Now then!” said before starting something.

(To become)

なる is to change into a different state or become something. It also means something turns out a certain way. It is also written 成(な)る.

(You)

君(きみ) is a word for “you” used toward equals or people younger or of lower standing. It sounds gentle or poetic. Read くん, it is a suffix on names.

(To protect)

守(まも)る is to protect someone from danger. It also means to keep a promise or obey a rule.

(To give)

くれる is for someone to give something to the speaker or the speaker’s side. After a て-form verb, it means someone does something for the speaker.

(Because)

もん ends a sentence to give a reason, often in a childish or pouting tone. It is a casual form of もの.

See Also

名探偵コナン © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.