まかり間違えば

• Reading: まかりまちがえば
• Romaji: makari machigaeba
• Kanji breakdown: 間違 (machigai) — mistake, error
• Pronunciation: /ma.ka.ɾi.ma.tɕi.ɡa.e.ba/

Meaning

If things go wrong; in the worst case; should a mistake occur. Used to foreground a grave risk or potential disaster.

A set phrase combining まかり (an intensifying prefix implying presumption or force) with 間違えば (conditional form of 間違える, to make a mistake). The phrase introduces a worst-case scenario and is used to stress the severity of a potential outcome. It appears in both formal writing and spoken Japanese when describing situations where a misstep would be catastrophic.

Examples

1. まかり間違えば命を落としていたような危険な状況だった。 It was a dangerous situation in which one wrong step could have cost a life.
2. あのときまかり間違えば、会社は取り返しのつかない損害を受けていた。 Had things gone wrong at that moment, the company would have suffered irreparable damage.
3. まかり間違えばスキャンダルに発展しかねない案件を、担当者は慎重に処理した。 The person in charge handled carefully a matter that could easily have blown up into a scandal had anything gone wrong.

Usage Guide

Context: risk assessment, journalism, formal speech, narrative

Tone: grave

Origin & History

From まかり (a classical intensifier from 罷る) combined with 間違えば (conditional of 間違える, meaning 'to err' or 'to make a mistake'). The phrase is a fixed expression implying a scenario where an error would have serious consequences.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: Adults

Social background: All classes