Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 1: 5/22

内(うち)にWhile, During

Structure

Verb［ている］+ うちに
［い］Adjective + うちに
［な］Adjective + な + うちに
Noun + の + うちに

Details

  • Register

    Standard

  • Rare Kanji

    裡に

About うちに

When うち, (sometimes seen using the kanji 内(うち), or 裡(うち)) is paired with the case marking particle に, it expresses a period/space 'within' which something else will/should happen/exist. It quite often (but not always) carries the nuance of (A) being the 'best', or the 'optimal' time/space within which (B) could occur/exist. In English, うちに can simply be translated as 'while', or 'during'.

うちに may be paired with the dictionary or ている form of verbs, the plain form of い-Adjectives, nouns followed by の, or な-Adjectives that are followed by な.

Unlike 間(あいだ)に, うちに expresses something that can happen/exist anywhere 'within' the span of (A), and is therefore non-specific as to where (B) is located.

Fun Fact

The kanji 裡(うち) refers literally to the inner walls/lining of something, and anything that is enclosed within that space. This can be thought of as where the 'non-specificity' of うち comes from, in regard to where within that space something is.

Related

Examples

--:--

    近(ちか)い内(うち)に連絡(れんらく)します。

    I'll be in touch before long.

    鉄(てつ)は熱(あつ)い内(うち)に打(う)て。

    Strike while the iron is hot.

    授業(じゅぎょう)を受(う)けている内(うち)に、宿題(しゅくだい)を完成(かんせい)させた。

    I was able to finish my homework while taking a class.

    赤(あか)ちゃんは食(た)べている内(うち)に寝(ね)てしまった。

    The baby fell asleep while eating.

    日本(にほん)にいる内(うち)に東京(とうきょう)に行(い)ってみたい。

    While I am in Japan, I want to see Tokyo.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online

    • Offline

        • [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese

          Page 208

        • [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar

          Page 512

        • Tobira

          Page 95

      • Track Resources!

        Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

      うちに – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (17 in total)

      • bilowik

        bilowik

        I keep re-reading the explanations and going over examples here and in the 間に grammar point and I still cannot discern the difference between the two. Google has failed me as well, and ChatGPT doesn’t even seem to know since it fairly consistently explains them each using what are essentially synonymous descriptions in English as well.

      • dharlequin

        dharlequin

        Seems like over the year ChatGPT got a little better in this particular example:

        1. 運転している間に眠くなったので、コンビニで休憩をした。

        → I got sleepy at some point while I was driving, so I took a break at a convenience store.

        • “間に” emphasizes the time span of driving.
        • It means: “During that period of driving, this (getting sleepy) happened.”
        • Neutral, factual, and time-based.
        • Implication: sleepiness was
      • casual

        casual

        Is this LLM explanation based on anything though? Can it cite an authoritative source, like a textbook equivalent, or a post aimed at Japanese language professionals (TV/book editors and such)?

        I don’t know if I’ve seen the ideas that “うちに implies a change or development over time”, or “emphasize that one state gradually led to another: → うちに” before.

        I’d consider うちに・間に essentially synonymous in this example. And if one is really searching for a nuance, that’d be that with うちに driving is a situation especially conductive of sleepiness. So if one would stop driving, that would also automatically prevent sleepiness.

      Got questions about うちに? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

      Join the Discussion