Structure
Verb + とき
［い］Adjective + とき
［な］Adjective + な + とき
Noun + の + とき
Details
Register
Standard
About とき
とき, or 時 in kanji, is a noun that is regularly used to signify 'when' something happened (a verb). However, unlike some other time expressions, とき is mainly used to express things that happen at regular intervals (habits, hobbies, etc.), or at broad times/individual events (when it rains, when there is a sale at the shop, etc.)
Using とき is quite easy! You just need to attach it to the end of any independent word (verbs, nouns, or adjectives). As with most cases where a noun will be attached to another word in Japanese, we will also be required to use な after な-Adjectives, and の after nouns. The case-marking particle に will generally come directly after 時, signifying that another verb is about to follow.
Caution
As discussed previously, ときに is primarily used to discuss when things happened. What this means is that it will not be used to highlight ongoing states that were true during the first action. For example 'the time you tripped over a log on Tuesday'.
-
学校から家に帰った時に火曜日だった。(Unnatural Japanese)The time when I was going home from school was Tuesday. (Tuesday is a state, rather than an action, so とき will not be used to express something like this)
When とき is used, the nuance will be that it is describing one thing leading to another, rather than a static thing.
-
俺は高校生の時に俺が好きな女の子に告白して、「え、無理...」って言われた。When I was in highschool I asked out a girl I liked, and she said 'umm, no way…' (時 is describing the broad event of 'being a highschool student', while て is goes on to describe another single event that happened during that time.
Synonyms
際に
When, At the time of, In case of, On the occasion of
Not studied yet
と同時に
At the same time as, The instant, The moment, As well as
Not studied yet
の間に
While, During, Between, Period
Not studied yet
中
During, While, Throughout, In the process of
Not studied yet
最中に
In the middle of
Not studied yet
ながら
While ~ing, During, As
Not studied yet
ているあいだに
While, During the time that ~
Not studied yet
ているところだ
In the process of doing ~ right now/at this moment
Not studied yet
うちに
While, During
Not studied yet
ことがある
Something is possible, Sometimes, Occasionally, There are times when
Not studied yet
ごろ
Around, About
Not studied yet
折には
When, Occasion, Opportunity, Time
Not studied yet
Examples
--:--
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
散歩をするときに音楽を聴く。
I listen to music when I take a walk.
授業のときは静かにしなくてはいけない。
When you are having class, you have to be quiet.
あの映画を見たとき、泣いた。
When I watched that movie, I cried.
大変なときに彼の親は亡くなった。
His parents died when he was going through a difficult time.
寒いときは、お風呂に入りたくなる。
When it is cold, I want to take a bath.
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
When: 時
Imabi
Use とき
JapaneseAmmo
"IF" / "WHEN" （と vs たら vs とき) Differences ┃PART1 & 2
Japanese Ammo
Offline
Genki II 1st Edition
Page 78
みんなの日本語 I
Page 146 [CH 23]
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 104
みんなの日本語 II
Page 24 [CH 28]
Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Rikai
Page 58
Marugoto Elementary 1 (A2) Rikai
Page 34
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 13 & 490
[AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
Page 114
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
とき – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (11 in total)
jelly1
Exactly my thoughts. The introduction/first example says it can be used for individual events but the Caution box says the opposite. Completely contradictory.
Would be nice if we could get that point about に added to the page as well.
Lederhosen42
Here to add onto the folks who are confused by the fact that the first example sentence is seemingly completely contradictory to the information given in the Caution section. Spent a fair amount of time scouring the first example and Caution section examples to work out what the difference was, but couldn’t work out what it would be.
vertexmachina
Here’s my understanding:
The Caution box says “it will not be used to highlight ongoing states that were true during the first action” and the given example is At the time of A, it was Tuesday which is invalid because Tuesday is an ongoing state (24 hours of it). I think that’s the key. The first example sentence is just an Individual Event, of the form At the time of A, B. where B is discrete rather than continuous.
Got questions about とき? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion