あいだ details
write + (and…) + the whole time that
kaite iru aida
the whole time that; throughout — a stretch the main clause fills end to end
meaning: the whole time writing
私は勉強しているあいだ、音楽を聞かない。
watashi wa benkyoushite iru aida, ongaku o kikanai.
I don't listen to music the whole time studying. neutral
携帯は会議のあいだ切っておいてください。
keitai wa kaiginoaida kitte oite kudasai.
Please keep your phone switched off throughout the meeting. neutral
- て-form
- dictionary form
- noun
- i-adjective
- alternant
- alternant
Examples
the whole time that — the main clause runs the full length of the stretch, whether by lasting, by repeating, or by holding off throughout
私は勉強しているあいだ、音楽を聞かない。
watashi wa benkyoushiteiruaida, ongaku o kikanai.
I don't listen to music the whole time studying. neutral
携帯は会議のあいだ切っておいてください。
keitai wa kaiginoaida kitte oite kudasai.
Please keep your phone switched off throughout the meeting. neutral
私が寝てるあいだ、ずっと雨だったみたい。
watashi ga neteru aida, zutto ame datta mitai.
It seems it rained the whole time I was asleep. casual
日本にいるあいだ、できるだけ多くの町を回りたい。
nihon ni iru aida, dekiru dake ooku no machi o mawaritai.
While I'm in Japan I want to get around as many towns as I can. neutral
暑いあいだ、ずっとクーラーをつけていた。
atsui aida, zutto kuuraa o tsukete ita.
I had the air conditioning on the whole time it was hot. neutral
ご滞在のあいだ、何かございましたらフロントまでお申しつけください。
go taizai no aida, nanika gozaimashitara furonto made o moushitsuke kudasai.
If anything comes up during your stay, please let the front desk know. formal
Formation
{V-te}いるあいだattaches to て-form{V}あいだattaches to dictionary form{N}のあいだattaches to noun{I}あいだattaches to i-adjective
Variant notes
- 間 — the kanji spelling, which is what print and textbooks use; kana is common in casual writing and neither changes the meaning.
- あいだは — は added to set this stretch against other times — 子供が小さいあいだは旅行は無理だ。
Notes
(日本にいるあいだ、何度も温泉に行った), or by
holding off throughout (授業のあいだ、一言も話さ
なかった).
Related patterns
Similar
ながら requires one person doing both things at once (音楽を聞きながら walks with whoever is listening); あいだ puts no such condition on it, so 弟が寝ているあいだ、私は本を読んだ has two different subjects where ながら could not.
とき points at an occasion and needs no duration at all (子供のとき, 帰るとき); あいだ needs a noun that names a stretch with two ends, so 夏休みのあいだ and 学生のあいだ work while 子供のあいだ never reads as "while young" — with a group of people it flips to "among" (子供のあいだで人気がある).
Lookalikes
に decides how much of the stretch the main clause has to fill — あいだに drops one event somewhere inside it (寝ているあいだに電話が来た), あいだ demands something that lasts the whole way through (寝ているあいだ、ずっと雨だった); swap them and one of the two sentences stops making sense.