Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 8: 7/23

た途端(とたん)にThe instant or moment, As soon as, Just as

Cannot be used after Nouns or Adjectives

Structure

Verb［た］+ とたん(に)

Details

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About たとたんに

たとたんに, frequently seen using its kanji form た途端(とたん)に is a structure used to convey that something happens 'the instant', or 'the moment' that something else occurs. It is a combination of the auxiliary verb た (indicating the completion of a verb), and the noun 途端(とたん) 'on the tip of' used adverbially (with に).

(A) た途端(とたん)に (B) is used to express (B) things that are beyond the control of the speaker, and may be considered strange, or unexpected.

As 途端(とたん) literally means 'on the tip of', any (B) action is considered to happen either directly upon (A), or even simultaneously with (A).

Related

Examples

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    出(で)た途端(とたん)に、雨(あめ)が降(ふ)り始(はじ)めた。

    The instant I went outside, it began to rain.

    帰(かえ)ろうとした途端(とたん)、仕事(しごと)を頼(たの)まれた。

    Just as I was about to leave, I was given more work to do.

    青(あお)になった途端(とたん)に飛(と)び出(だ)すのは危(あぶ)ないよ。

    It's dangerous to speed off the instant (a traffic light) turns (became) green.

    家(いえ)に入(はい)った途端(とたん)呼(よ)び鈴(りん)が鳴(な)った。

    Just as I got into the house, the doorbell rang.

    彼女(かのじょ)を見(み)た途端(とたん)に恋(こい)をしてしまった。

    I fell in love the instant I saw her.

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たとたんに – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    English translation:
    the instant
    as soon as
    just as

    Structure:
    Verb[ た ] + とたん(に)

    View on Bunpro

  • Juppy

    Juppy

    Could someone help me understand when should I add the に , and when should I not add it?

    I was doing the reviews and I often get a warning like:

    • に is not needed because there is a comma after.

    However, I also encountered cases where there is a comma after and bunpro marks me wrong if I do not add the に.

  • eccol

    eccol

    I would also like an explanation of に. It happens on several grammar points but on this one in particular it just marks me wrong immediately instead of giving a hint.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @Juppy
    Hey and sorry for the late answer

    @eccol
    Hey and welcome on the community forums!

    To be honest, this is a matter of convention. Some Japanese feel that adding に if there is a comma already is not necessary. Not an error though.

    I think that we will change those hints, and simply accept answers with に.

  • eccol

    eccol

    Thanks for the reply!
    The sentence I was being marked wrong on was 座ったとたん用事を思い出した。which I now notice doesn’t even have a comma. Is that correct?

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Yes, 座ったとたんに用事を思い出した。is correct , and should be accepted, since it is added to the answer list

    It might have been some kind of one-time bug, I will tell the technical part of the team to check it

    Sorry fot the inconvenience!
    Cheers!

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