Japanese Language - when to use when

10 MINUTE LESSON RULES: 1. read each example outloud several times. 2. Pay close attention to the notes.

This lesson we will look at how to say 'when' in Japanese. In English 'when' can mean a few things. Consider these examples:

Here we will look at 3 words that convey this meaning in Japanese - とき toki たら tara と to

A Prelude...

BEFORE THE LESSON YOU NEED TO KNOW...

時 toki by itself means time, but here it is used in another way

始めましょう！ Let's begin...

とき toki - at the time when...

EXAMPLES: Please repeat several times:

NOUNS (gakusei) use の no	[Looking at a photo] 私は学生のときにはとても若かったね。 watashi wa gakusei no toki ni wa totemo wakakatta ne.	[looking at a photo] When I was a student, I was very young, wasn't I?
VERB simple past	フロリダに行ったときにこれを買いました。 furorida ni itta toki ni kore wo kaimashita.	When I went to Florida, I bought this.
VERB non-past	フロリダに行くときはおみやげを買います。 furorida ni iku toki wa omiyage wo kaimasu.	When I go to Florida, I will buy souvenirs.
VERB continuing	寝るときいつも布団で寝ます。 neru toki itsumo futon de nemasu.	When I sleep, I always sleep on a futon.

NOTE: You only use の no with nouns

- Keep this in mind and move on!

たら tara - if, when, after

EXAMPLES: Please repeat several times:

NON-PAST	ゴジラが来たら逃げろ！ gojira ga kitara nigero!	When/if Godzilla comes, RUN AWAY!
NON-PAST	１０時になったらねます。 juu ji ni nattara nemasu.	When it becomes 10, I will sleep. (At ten I will sleep.)
PAST	海岸に行ったら、突然ゴジラが来ました！ kaigan ni ittara, totsuzen gojira ga kimashita!	When I went to the beach, suddenly Godzilla came!

NOTE: たら tara can mean both if (don't know if it will occur) and when (expecting it to occur but don't know when)

NOTE: FORM: Stick ra to the simple past of a verb: 食べた（ら）tabeta (ra) 終わった（ら）owatta (ra) This form is the same for both future and past tenses! It is only by the second verb that we know if it is past or future.

NOTE: Using たら tara in the past tense always indicates a chance happening and not something planned or expected. ex. "When I went to school, I happened to meet the teacher."

- Keep this in mind and move on!

Don't worry TOO much about memorizing long complicated lists and rules. Just try to get a FEEL for how the sentences work.

Take a breather... You are almost there!

NOTE: と to is only used with non-past verbs. (ex. X = mita to ; O = miru to) To make the past simply change the form of the second verb.

NOTE: Think of と to as being a plus (+) and equal sign (=) because what comes before と to causes what comes after

All men are prone to err so please email me should you find a mistake (or two). Click here

NON-PAST	ゴジラが来ると皆さん逃げます。 gojira ga kuru to minasan nigemasu.	When Godzilla comes, everyone RUNS AWAY!
NON-PAST	テレビを見ると眠くなります。 terebi wo miru to nemuku narimasu.	When I watch TV, I become sleepy.
PAST	日本に来ると日本の文化を好きになりました。 nihon ni kuru to nihon no bunka wo suki ni narimashita.	When I came to Japan, I became interested in Japanese culture.