Overview
Both patterns look back at an unmet condition and wish things had gone differently, but they differ in who the regret is aimed at and what it emphasizes. ばよかった is the speaker’s regret about their own past choice — “I should have,” “I wish I had.” ば～のに carries regret too, but often points outward with mild reproach — “if only you had…, but you didn’t” — and spotlights the gap between what was wished and what actually happened. The shorthand for students: ばよかった looks inward at one’s own missed action; ば～のに often looks outward, with a note of “why didn’t you?” and a sharper contrast to reality. They overlap and even combine, so the boundaries below matter. The entries lead with a simple example, then a funny one.
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