LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 164 JLPT N4
When This Happens (時)
時 (とき), the plain word for “time,” attaches after a verb, adjective, or noun in its plain form and means “when.” The tense of the clause before 時 doesn’t have to match the main clause, each one is set independently.
When entering someone's house, you say 'ojama shimasu.'
When you get home, you say 'tadaima.'
In Real Life
入る時 uses the dictionary form even though the sentence describes a habitual, repeated situation, “whenever you enter.” 時 doesn’t care whether the action already happened, is happening, or hasn’t happened yet, the form right before it just reflects that clause’s own internal timing.
When I feel lonely, I call my family.
When I have free time, I read.
In Real Life
い-adjectives attach directly, 寂しい時. な-adjectives and nouns insert な, 暇な時, 休みの時 uses の instead since 休み is a noun, the same pattern you’ve now seen across many grammar points, ので, のに, はず, ように.
When I go on a trip, I book a hotel.
In Real Life
時は, adding は, sets the whole time clause up as a topic, emphasizing a contrast or a general rule more strongly than 時 alone, “as for when I travel, [this is what I do].”
Vocabulary
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| excuse the intrusion (entering someone's home) | |
| see you off, take care (to someone leaving) | |
| I'm home | |
| good night | |
| alarm clock | |
| dictionary | |
| to get lost | |
| local specialty | |
| popcorn | |
| movie theater | |
| habit | |
| greeting | |
| scene, situation | |
| set phrase | |
| at the same time | |
| every time | |
| moment | |
| custom | |
| manners, etiquette | |
| situation |