Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 4: 9/21

と同時(どうじ)に

At the same time as, The instant, The moment, As well as

Structure

Verb［る］ + と同時(どうじ)に
［い］Adjective + と同時(どうじ)に
［な］Adjective + である + と同時(どうじ)に
Noun + （である) + と同時(どうじ)に

Details

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    Standard

  • 使用域

    一般

About と同時に

To convey that things are happening at the same time in Japanese, と同時(どうじ)に will often be used. This is a combination of the case marking particle と in its listing particle use, 同時(どうじ), a noun meaning 'the same time', and に, the case marking particle marking a location.

と同時(どうじ)に translates as 'at the same time as (A)', 'the instant that (A)', or 'as well as (A)'. In sentences that use this grammar structure, (A) is considered to be the primary event, but any (B) or (C) events are not considered any less important.

In the case of nouns and な-Adjectives, である is often omitted.

While the literal meaning of と同時(どうじ)に is 'at the same time', this expression is also regularly used when listing multiple roles or functions that someone/thing has. This comes across as 'as well as', but still carries the 'at the same time nuance'.

Examples

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    演技(えんぎ)が終(お)わると同時(どうじ)に、観客(かんきゃく)から拍手(はくしゅ)が起(お)こった。

    The audience erupted in applause the instant the show was over. (at the same time as)

    演奏(えんそう)が始(はじ)まると同時(どうじ)に、彼(かれ)は眠(ねむ)ってしまった。

    The moment the performance started, he fell asleep. (at the same time as)

    道(みち)を横断(おうだん)し終(お)わると同時(どうじ)に、信号(しんごう)が赤(あか)に変(か)わった。

    The instant I crossed the street, the traffic light turned red. (at the same time as)

    引(ひ)っ越(こ)すと同時(どうじ)に髪型(かみがた)を変(か)えてみようと思(おも)っています。

    I am thinking about changing my hairstyle the instant I move. (at the same time as)

    目覚(めざ)めると同時(どうじ)に着替(きが)えて出(で)かけた。

    The moment I woke up, I got dressed and went out. (at the same time as)

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と同時に – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (4 in total)

  • Daru

    Daru

    Added the video and fixed the resources!

  • imsamuka

    imsamuka

    If と同時に uses the と listing particle, can we list various things before と同時に? There’s a difference in nuance in this case?

  • IcyIceBear

    IcyIceBear

    I see it as more of a “together” particle here. Like サムと一緒に together with sam. With the same time as と同時に. Besides that I don’t know if it would work for multiple things. Another translation is “the instant” so not a lot of things can be done in that time frame. There’s probably better grammar to use in that case like 間に

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