#とたん

Hello! Today I’m going to talk about grammar forms that are “in the moment”. That is to say that two things happen around the same time. 

Let’s consider these sentences in English:

When the elevator closed, I realized I forgot my wallet.

or 

When you get back, please call me.

In both sentences, “when” is used to describe a moment where an action happened. If you’re beginning Japanese, your first impulse may be to translate the sentences into Japanese using “時／とき”:

エレベーターが閉まった時に、さいふを忘れてしまった気づきました。

Hmm. I don’t want to say this is completely wrong, but the correct emotional conveyance isn’t there. 時 is used when it’s a general and extended period of time (学生の時: When I was a student; 結婚した時: When I got married, for example). However, elevator doors closing is usually a swift action.

The second problem with 時 is that people usually remember forgotten things the moment it becomes too late. 時 does a poor job conveying suddenness or promptness. It’s a jack of all trades but master of pretty near nothing; learning to notuse 時 all the time is a strong sign of Japanese fluency.

So, let’s talk about things we can use to replace 時. Mostly, とたん, 次第, and 最中.

Let’s talk about とたん, since it’s the easier one to explain, but a little harder to get. 

とたん

とたん’s most precise translation is “just now” or “at that moment”. It’s literally the second A happens, then B. This makes とたん the best fit for our elevator example:

エレベーターが閉まったとたん(に)、さいふを忘れてしまった気づきました。

This is much better, since now there is that understanding of “at that moment”. The listener/reader can imagine the surprise or shock of realizing you forgot your wallet when the doors closed. 

I highlighted part of the sentence for a reason. You see, とたん can only be used with a past tense verb. とたん is pretty much always used in regard to an action. It’s even hard to imagine an “as soon as” sentence in English without a verb in past tense. It’s the same scenario in Japanese. Let’s translate a few:

As soon as I returned home, the phone rang.

家に帰ったとたん(に)、電話が鳴りました。

When I finished my homework, I turned on the television. 

しゅくだいを終えたとたん(に)、テレビをつけました。

Just as my mom entered the room, we started laughing.

お母さんが部屋に入ったとたん、ぼくたちが笑い始まりました。

I hope you notice something about とたん in these examples:

1) とたん is always used when both clauses are past tense. You can’t say “Just as the door closed, let’s start dancing!”. Even in English that’s weird. とたん must be preceded by a past tense verb, and followed by a past tense verb. 

2) I put (に) in parenthesis a lot. I did this to show that に, while used correctly in this form, can be optional. とたん only really uses に as a particle to the point where に is pretty much implied. 

次第/しだい

Is it weird I like the aesthetics of this word? Yes? Okay, let’s move on then.

次第 also means “as soon as”, but it’s primarily used in the present. Let’s look at our original second example:

When you get back, please call me.

Well, とたん can’t work here because neither the first or second part is in past tense. 時 is also no good because while “returning” can take a long time, the speaker is obviously referring to a specific instance when the returning is completed. It might even be imperative that the listener/reader call ASAP.

This is where 次第 works. It actually has a second meaning of “dependent upon”, but it doesn’t always work in translation with its other meaning. At this moment, we are only regarding its “as soon as”/”immediately” meaning.

When you get back, please call me.

帰り次第、私を電話に呼び出した下さい。

Let’s note how 次第 is conjugated. The verb is put into its ます form, but the ます is cut off. Also note how the second part is a command/request. This is acceptable. 

次第 also implies that the first clause can be done, so you can’t really use potential form with this. Let’s look at another example:

The moment you fall in love, you become weak.

恋をし次第、弱くなります。

Again, the same thing. A ます form verb with no ます, followed by 次第. 

Now, this next note is pretty important:

DO NOT USE 次第 with に. 

The issue isn’t that に can never be used with 次第. The issue that when they are used together, the meaning changes. 次第に means “to gradually –”. It’s an adverb. For example:

まどを閉め次第に, ライトをつけて下さい。

I…I wouldn’t know where to begin translating this. If the まどを閉め part wasn’t there, this could be “Please gradually turn on the lights”. But since まどを閉め is there, this sentences becomes quite messed up. If に wasn’t there:

まどを閉め次第, ライトをつけて下さい。

As soon as you close the window, please turn on the lights.

There, much better. Of course, this is a valid sentence too:

まどを閉め次第, 次第にライトをつけて下さい。

As soon as you close the windows, please gradually turn on the lights.

If this sentence seems silly to any English speakers, remember that Will Smith will smith.

最中／さいちゅう

And last but not least is 最中. 最中 means “in the middle of”. Despite the presence of 中, it doesn’t have to be the actual middle. Much like in English, 最中 has the same non-exact emotional meaning:

かれのスピーチの最中に彼女が泣きました。

She cried in the middle of his speech.

Now, it’s not always clear what the exact “middle” of something like a speech is. It could be closer towards the beginning or the end. All 最中 does is note that some moment, performance, or action was interrupted by something else.

ざっしを読んでいる最中、医者に呼ばられました。

I was in the middle of reading the magazine when I was called by the doctor.

In this example, I’m using a Verb, but in ーている form. This is acceptable. After all, you have to have been doing an action to be interrupted by it. Even in English, the verb is in -ing form even though this happened in the past tense. Let’s look at one more example.

A: 「今、何をしているの？」 “What are you doing now?”

B: 「宿題の最中だ。」            “In the middle of homework.”

At first glance, B seems to be using a fragmented sentence, but it’s actually complete: “(I’m) in the middle of (doing) homework”. This is also acceptable. It’s clear that 時 couldn’t work in this example. If someone asks what you are doing, “Homework time” is kind of a weird response. This also shows that 最中 primarily serves as a sort of “adverb” noun. It’s a noun that only serves a purpose when describing actions and moments. Therefore, it is perfectly okay to say “I am ‘Noun’”. 

Let’s practice a bit, shall we? I’ll write some sentences in English, and you can think about if 時, とたん, 次第, and/or 最中 would work:

1. When you’re done with that, you can go home.

2. When the cat hissed, I started running.

3. I was daydreaming when I saw him.

4. When you are free, call me.

5. My phone always rings a lot when I am sleeping.

6. I hate it when you call me after work! I’m always in a meeting!

Alrighty, let’s see how you did:

1. それを終えたとたん、帰ってもいいです。

　それをおえた時、帰ってもいいです。

In this case, both とたん and 時 are fine. The reason is that the sentence in itself doesn’t convey urgency or a sense of immediateness. However, it could. So either is fine.

2. 猫がほえたとたん、はしりました。

Here, there is a strong association with the timing of A and B. A happened first, then B. Further, both are in past tense. とたん is the winner.

3. くうそうふけっている最中にかれを見ました。

Here, the sentence is both in past tense, but the sentence doesn’t convey the sense of an immediate event. Further, “daydreaming” is more likely something to be interrupted. 最中 is the best.

However, one could make the case for 時 if this happens EVERY TIME. 

4. あなたが暇になり次第、呼び出してください

　あなたが暇な時に、呼び出してください。

Interestingly enough, both 次第 and 時 are acceptable in this translation, only because we don’t have further context. 次第 works well with a sense of urgency or command, while 時 works more as an invitation or a polite request. But, please note what precedes both clauses. 次第 MUST be followed by a verb. To that end, 休む could also work. If the case was for 時, then of course adjectives are fine. But for any verb, it should be in dictionary form in this case. 

5. 寝ている最中に電話がいつもたくさんの音を鳴きます。

    寝る時に電車がいつもたくさんの音を鳴きます。

Hnnnnn. This is also a weird context one. Remember, 最中 is best when it conveys that something has been interrupted. Naturally, sleep can be interrupted–but it doesn’t have to be. If the speaker is a hard sleeper, but then wakes up in the morning to find a lot of missed texts and calls and notifications, then 時 is better. If the speaker is trying to convey often being woken up, 最中 can be a better bet.

6. あなたが仕事の後にすぐに私を呼び出す物が嫌いだ。いつも会議の最中だよ！

Ah, a tricky two-parter! Yep, couldn’t resist. I’m sure many of you saw “I hate it when” and went through all what we talked about. You’re right to think that とたん, 次第, and 最中 aren’t correct in that part (最中 works in the second part though), but where is 時? The problem with using 時 is that a specific instance, when the listener calls, is describedas disliked by the speaker. If something has frequently happened to the point where it is a norm, and it is being described by an adjective, then 物/もの is actually the correct noun. I may do a more in depth lesson later about 物/もの, but just know that 時 is used when a moment is used as the description, 物 is used when a specific and common moment is described. 

So that’s it! It was a bit of a long lesson, but the grammar is geared towards those who are a little more on the advanced side. Hopefully, I helped clear some things up!