Common mistake: “WHEN” in Japanese : いつ, とき , たら , と…

One of the most common mistakes I see is how learners express “when”.
Majority of my students (even advanced students) make mistakes on this one.
I cannot blame them because it is indeed confusing!
And the textbook doesn’t explain too clear!
But read this guide, and you’ll master the Japanese “WHEN” ★

 

When you look “when” up in a dictionary, you get いつ (itsu).
Fine, いつ does mean “when”. But you must be careful!
いつ can only be used as a question.

E.g

いつ日本に来ますか。
ITSU nihon ni ki-masu ka
= When will you come to Japan?

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いつ日本語を勉強し始めたの？
itsu nihon-go wo benkyou shi-hajimeta no?
= When did you start learning Japanese?

A: 久しぶりー！遊ぼうよ！
B: 久しぶり！うん、いいね。明日は暇？
A: ごめん、明日はちょっと・・・
B: そっか。じゃあ、いつがいい？私はいつでも暇だよ（笑）

A: Hisashiburi~ asobOU yo
B: Hisashiburi! Un, ii ne. Ashita wa hima?
A: Gomen, ashita wa chotto…
B: Sokka. Jaa, ITSU ga ii? watashi wa itsu-demo hima da yo

=
A: Long time no see! We should hang out! (lit. Let’s hang out!)
B: Long time no see! Yeah, cool! Are you free tomorrow?
A: Sorry, not tomorrow…
B: Alright. Then when is good for you? I’m always free lol

夏休みはいつからいつまでですか。
natsu-yasumi wa ITSU kara ITSU made desu ka
= From when to when is the summer holiday? (does it last)

 

 

Words that are created from “ITSU”.

いつか = someday

いつも = all the time / always

いつでも = (at) any time / whenever

いつから = from when

いつまで = until / to when

 

 

Then what do you use for a sentence like
“When I was in Japan, I had lots of sushi.”?

Use とき / 時 / toki !!
(The kanji means “time“.
Though as a word / noun “time”, we say ” 時間 (jikan)“)

When <sentence 1>, <sentence 2>

=  <sentence 1> とき, <sentence 2>

The first rule :
“<sentence 1 > とき” should come in the first place.
(Except : In informal speech, it can go at the end if you forget to put it first.)
The second rule :
DO NOT use  masu form or desu form. (i.e.  only put plain form) in the first clause.

 

Noun + のとき
(toki is a noun, so remember? You always connect two different nouns with の particle!)
E.g

雨のとき、よくうちで本を読みます。
ame NO toki, yoku uchi de hon wo yomi-masu
= When it rains, I often read books at home.

十代のとき、親といつも喧嘩していた。
juu-dai NO toki, oya to itsumo kenka shite-ita
= I was always arguing with my parents when I was a teenager.

子どものとき、くもが怖かったです。
kodomo NO toki, kumo ga kowa-katta desu
= When I was a child, I was scared of spiders.

 

As you can see from the examples above,
even when the tense in the second clause is present or past,
you don’t have to change anything before the とき.

However, you CAN make it past tense,
and it puts more emphasis on the fact that the action has taken place in the past.

And of course, to make a past tense, you need the help of a verb. (Here it is だった.)
So don’t put の.

⇒

E.g

学生だったとき、コンビニでアルバイトをしていました。
gakusei datta toki, konbini de arubaito wo shite-ima-shita
= When I was a student, I used to do a part-time job in a convenience store. (konbini)

父がまだパイロットだったときは、わたしは三歳でした。
chichi ga mada pairotto datta toki wa, watashi wa san-sai deshita
= When my father was still a pilot, I was three years old.

 

And for negation, simply put じゃない or ではない (form.).

E.g

観光シーズンじゃないときに行ったから、人が少なかった。
kankou shiizun ja nai toki ni* itta kara, hito ga suku-na-katta
= There weren’t many people because I went there in the off-season
(lit. when it was not the tourist season).
———

About に, normally you don’t need to put に after とき.  But here’s when we often put it :

From “kankou” to “kara”, that’s the BIG actual “clause 1” and the rest is the “clause 2”.
But when you look at the “clause 1”, it’s made out of two parts :

観光シーズンじゃないときに  (kankou shiizun ja nai toki ni) + 行ったから (itta kara)
= When it wasn’t the tourist season + Because I went

Without に, it still works, but to make the sentence flow, it’s better to put に.

 

Also when you want to put emphasis on WHEN, に is often added.

E.g

A: いつ薬を飲めばいいですか。
itsu kusuri wo nom-eba ii desu ka
B: 痛いときに、飲んでください。
itai toki NI, nonde kudasai
= A: When should I take the medicine / pill?
B: Please take it when it’s painful.

*See, in this example, what B wants to say is mainly “WHEN to take”.
You’ll see more examples below.
———

Let’s move on to using adjectives!

As for adjectives, you don’t have to change or add anything.
For I-adjectives, い stays the same and for NA-adjectives, な stays the same too. Easy!

E.g

お母さんはケチだから、 寒いときでも、暖房をつけない。
okaasan wa kechi da-kara, samui toki demo* danbou wo tsuke-nai
= My mum is stingy so even when it’s cold, she doesn’t put heating on.

教室が静かなとき、先生は嬉しそうです。
kyoushitsu ga shizuka-na toki, sensei wa ureshi-sou desu
= The teacher seems happy when the class is quiet.

 

Again, the past tense

紅葉がきれいなときに、京都に行きました。
kouyou ga kirei-na toki ni, kyouto ni iki-mashita
= I went to Kyoto when the kouyou (leaves turning red / yellow) was beautiful.

can be

紅葉がきれいだったときに、京都に行きました。
kouyou ga kirei datta toki ni, kyouto ni iki-mashita

However, it can imply that there is no “Kouyou”
or it’s not beautiful anymore as it emphasizes that it was in the past.

 

So if the country used to be safe, but not anymore,
then you should use だった in the below example :

この国が（まだ）安全だったときに、生まれました。
kono kuni ga (mada) anzen datta toki ni, umare-mashita
= I was born when this country was (still) safe.

 

So far, we’ve learnt that

the tense does NOT matter in nouns and adjectives!

 

Now this is the hardest part about using とき…

PRESENT  VERB + とき
E.g

このケーキを作るとき、いつもレシピを見ます。
kono keeki wo tsukuru toki, itsumo reshipi wo mi-masu
= I always look at the recipe when I make this cake.

This one must be easy. Nothing weird about it.
Next I’ll show you the one that confuses the learners.

First, understand that when using た, it’s the past tense meaning “LEFT”.

うちを出る
uchi wo deru
= to leave the house / will leave the house

うちを出た
uchi wo deTA
= left the house

 

Now let’s put them in this pesky とき.

うちを出るとき
uchi wo deru toki
= When leaving the house
/ BEFORE actually leaving the house, but on the way

うちを出たとき
uchi wo deTA toki
= When I (actually, physically) left the house

 

That’s right,
the meaning changes depending on whether it’s present or past tense.
Let’s see them in an example sentence.

うちを出るとき、電気を消した。
uchi wo deRU toki, denki wo keshita
= I turned the lights off when I was leaving the house.
(BEFORE leaving the house)

Here, you need to use でる (present) to show that you were still in the house
because you wouldn’t be able to turn the lights off outside of the house
unless you have a remote control or something.

 

うちを出たとき、鍵をかけた。
uchi wo deTA toki, kagi wo kaketa
= I locked the door when I left the house.
(AFTER leaving the house)

Here, if you use the present tense,
it’d mean that you lock yourself in when you actually want to leave. Madness!

 

 

More examples :

Present tense “iku (= to go)” :

日本に行くとき、お土産を買った。
nihon ni iku toki, omiyage wo katta
= I bought souvenirs when I was on my way to Japan.
(was heading / going to Japan)

*The speaker maybe bought it at the airport in his own country,
for his friends / host family in Japan.
Past tense “itta (= went)” :

日本に行ったとき、お土産を買った。
nihon ni itta toki, omiyage wo katta
= I bought souvenirs when I went to Japan.
(arrived there and bought it when I was there.)

*In this one, the speaker probably bought the souvenirs
for himself or his friends / family in his country.

 

部屋に入るとき、ノックしてください。
heya ni hairu toki, nokku shite-kudasai
= Please knock on the door when entering the room.
(Before entering the room)

車のドアノブを触ったときに、バチッとするのは静電気のせいです。
kuruma no doa-nobu wo sawatta toki-ni, bachi tto suru no wa seidenki no sei desu
= The “bzzt” feeling you get when (after) touching  the car door handle
is caused by static electricity.

 

道を渡るとき、まず右と左を確認してください。
michi wo wataru toki, mazu migi to hidari wo kakunin shite-kudasai
= Please check the right and left first when crossing
(before actually crossing) the road.

 

犯人が道を渡ったとき、見失ってしまった。
hannin ga michi wo watatta toki, mi-ushinatte-shimatta
= I lost sight of the criminal when (after) he crossed the road.

 

——-

Although “past tense + とき” can express that the action was already done,
when you want to emphasize “AFTER” and “BEFORE”, use the different words.

For “Before“, use
Plain verb (not past) + まえ（に）
E.g

日本に行く前に、お土産を買っておいた。
nihon ni iku mae-ni, omiyage wo katte-oita*
= I bought souvenirs before going to Japan.
* TE form + おく = to do ~ in advance

[spacer height=”15px”] 晩ご飯を食べる前に、手を洗った。
ban-gohan wo taberu mae-ni, te wo aratta
= I washed my hands before eating dinner.

 

For “After“, use
Plain past (た) あと（で*）
*で is often omitted

or   てform + から… = do (te form), then do ….
* This is used more commonly if you list the sequence of actions.

E.g

「これがいい！」と思ったドレスを見つけたけど、
値段を見た後（で）、買う気がなくなった。
“kore ga ii” to omotta doresu wo mitsuketa kedo,
nedan wo mita ato (de), kau ki ga naku-natta
= I found a dress that made me think “I want this one!”
but after seeing the price, I lost my interest in buying it.
*Here you can use 見たとき instead of 見たあと.

 

うちを出てから、電気を消さなかったことに気づいた。
uchi wo dete kara, denki wo kesa-nakatta koto ni kizuita
= I realized that I didn’t turn the lights off after leaving the house.

 

日本に着いてから、ホテルを探すのはいい考えじゃない。
nihon ni tsuite kara, hoteru wo sagasu no wa ii kangae ja nai
= It’s not a good idea to look for a hotel after arriving in Japan.

——-

 

The examples below are a little bit more complicated but worth knowing.

～ときの noun …

これは、富士山を登ったときの写真です。
kore wa fuji-san wo nobotta toki NO shashin desu
= This is the picture (lit. of) when I climbed Mt. Fuji.

 

日本語が下手だったときの自分の日記を見て、笑った。
nihon-go ga heta datta toki NO jibun no nikki wo mite, waratta
= I saw my diary from the time I was terrible at Japanese and laughed.
(lit. I saw the diary of myself of when I was terrible at Japanese and laughed.)

 

 

～ときから  = From / Since when

初めて会ったときから、好きでした。
hajimete atta toki KARA, suki deshita
= I’ve always liked you since when I first saw / met you.
～ときまで =  Until when

アメリカに帰ってきたときまで、毎日日本語で話していた。
amerika ni kaette-kita toki made, mainichi nihon-go de hanashite-ita
= I was speaking Japanese everyday until when I came back to the US.

 

 

～ときのために
= For (the sake of) when ~ / In case of ~

地震が起きたときのために、水をたくさん買っておいた。
jishin ga okita toki no tame-ni, mizu wo takusan katte-oita
= I bought lots of water in case of the earthquake. (lit. for the time the earthquake happens)

 

 ―――――

旅行に行くときに必要なスーツケースを買った。
ryokou ni iku toki ni hitsuyou-na suutsukeesu wo katta
= I bought a suitcase that is necessary when traveling.

 

電話したときに一緒にいた人は誰？
denwa shita toki-ni  issho-ni ita hito wa dare
= Who was the person with you when I called you?

  ―――――

 

And this is what separates the intermediate from advanced students :

Using たら and と as “when” – 

If you’ve already learnt conditional “IF form” in Japanese, you probably know these.
If not, they can be translated as “IF” and “WHEN”.

First I’ll explain how to use the conditional “と”.
と as you may know means “and” if it’s between two nouns.
So technically <verb + と> cannot mean “verb + and”.
Because you’d have to use TE form instead.

Anyways,  と is used for natural consequence.
Which means,
“when you do 1, 2 ALWAYS happens”.
present plain verb + と 、 sentence 2  = when / if …, sentence 2

 

For example, if you want to make the sentence
“When you close your eyes, you cannot see anything.”
We can say this logic is always right.
…unless you are a chou-nouryoku-sha (psychic). (ﾟдﾟ)！

 

A lot of beginners would translate this using とき :
目を閉じるとき、何も見えません。
me wo tojiru toki, nani-mo mie-masen
Humm, sure, it’s まあまあ (okay / so-so).
But don’t you want to sound native? YES, now then what shall we use?

と!!! （＾◇＾）

目を閉じると、何も見えません。
me wo tojiru TO, nani-mo mie-masen
= When you close your eyes, you cannot see anything.

 

More examples :
“When you press this switch, the lights go off.”

Unless it’s broken, this should also be something that always happens.

So let’s use と.

このスイッチを押すと、電気は消えます。
kono suicchi wo osu TO, denki wa kie-masu

 

 

“When you put mentos in coke, the coke bursts out!”

メントスガイザー！！（mentos geyser!!)
Again it always happens. We can say it’s a natural consequence as well. So…

コーラにメントスを入れると、コーラが噴き出す。
koora ni mentosu wo ireru to, koora ga fuki-dasu

 

 

“When the meal is tasty, I feel happy.”

“Feeling happy” also naturally occurs.
And the speaker probably always feels happy when the meal is good.
I don’t think (s)he would be like “Ah, yesterday I was happy but today…nah.”.

ごはんがおいしいとき、うれしくなる。
is a bit odd so…

⇒　ごはんがおいしいと、うれしくなる。
gohan ga oishii TO, ureshiku-naru

 

It’s been pretty good, right?
Now let’s move on!!

たら

the simple past tense (た) + ら.  To make the simple past, learn TE form.

sentence 1 たら、 sentence 2

The main rule is :
the action in S1 has to happen before S2.
The sequence of “S1 ⇒ then S2” is the key in this one.
So when it does not follow “s1 ⇒ s2” logically or time-wise, you cannot use it.

So in a sentence like “When I did 1, 2 happened”, たら is used.
(Not like “I bought a car when I got a girlfriend.”.)

E.g

When I laughed, the tears came out.

笑ったら、涙が出た。
warattara, namida ga deta

 

When I bought an umbrella in a rush, it stopped raining.

傘を急いで買ったら、雨がやんだ。
kasa wo isoide kattara, ame ga yanda

 

More examples using たら as when.

親が怒ったら、子どもは泣きだしてしまった。
oya ga okottara, kodomo wa naki-dashite-shimatta
= When the parents told the child off  (got angry), he started crying.

 

ＡＴＭでお金を出したら、手数料を取られる。
ATM de okane wo dashitara, tesuuryou wo torareru
= When I take money out at the ATM, they take / charge a commission.

 

朝起きたら、いつもヨガをします。
asa okitara, itsumo yoga wo shimasu
= I always do yoga when I get up.

 

チェスのやり方を知らないと言ったら、ジェームズは驚いた。
chesu no yari-kata wo shira-nai to ittara, jeemuzu wa odoroita
= When I said that I don’t know how to play chess, James was surprised.

 

テレビをつけたら、トトロがやっていた。
terebi wa tsuketara, totoro ga yatte-ita
= When I put the TV on, Totoro was on / playing.

 

部屋に戻ったら、電話がなっていた。
heya ni modottara, denwa ga natte-ita
= When I came back to my room, the phone was ringing.

 

 

You can use たら instead of と.
It sounds more casual if you use たら when と can be used.

E.g

目を閉じたら、何も見えないよ。
me wo tojitaRA, nani-mo mie-nai yo
= You cannot see anything when / if you close your eyes.

 

That’s it!
I hope you can now use “WHEN” in Japanese correctly :)
If you have any questions or thoughts, please leave a comment.
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またね＼(^o^)／