"As soon as" and "just": Back-to-back actions in Japanese

In Japanese, you’ll generally use とたん (transcribed totan), ばかり (transcribed bakari) or ところ (transcribed tokoro) to talk about back-to-back actions. Here’s a basic description of when to use each one:

• Use とたん (transcribed totan) where you could use “as soon as” in English.

• Use ばかり (transcribed bakari) to mark something that “just” happened.

• Use ところ (transcribed tokoro) to mark something that happened “just now.”

In this post, we’ll look more closely at these three expressions — how to use them, and when to use each one. If you use these expressions correctly, your stories will sound clearer and more vibrant. Let’s find out more!

The Japanese word とたん (transcribed totan) means “as soon as,” connecting two actions that happened back-to-back. However, unlike “as soon as,” とたん (transcribed totan) comes after the first action, rather than before it.

Sometimes you’ll hear people use に (transcribed ni) after とたん (transcribed totan). This is totally optional and doesn’t change the meaning much.

However, there are some really important differences between とたん (transcribed totan) and “as soon as”!

1. とたん [totan] is only used with the past tense

   In English, we often use “as soon as” to talk about things that will happen in the future, as in:

   I’ll clean my room as soon as I finish this game.

   talking about the future

   とたん (transcribed totan) is not used this way! It is only used to talk about back-to-back actions in the past. This means it will generally follow the past tense.

   雷が聞こえたとたん、妹が泣き出した。

   Transcription: Kaminari ga kikoeta totan, imōto ga nakidashita.

   Translation: As soon as I heard the thunder, my sister started crying.

2. The second event is not in the speaker’s control

   When you use とたん (transcribed totan), the second event or situation is directly triggered by the first action. This means that the second action is not the speaker’s choice. For example:

   second event

   ❌私は牛乳を飲んだとたん、りんごを 食べた 。

   Transcription: Watashi wa gyūnyū o nonda totan, ringo o tabeta.

   Translation: As soon as I drank milk, I ate an apple.

   This is wrong because you ate an apple on purpose. It wasn’t a simple side-effect of the first action.

   Compare the example above with the acceptable use below:

   second event

   ✅牛乳を飲んだとたん、おなかがいたくなった。

   Transcription: Gyūnyū o nonda totan onaka ga itakunatta.

   Translation: As soon as I drank milk, I got a stomachache.

   Getting a stomachache is not something you can control, so using とたん (transcribed totan) is just fine.

3. The two actions should come in chronological order

   When using とたん (transcribed totan), the action that happened first should always come first in the sentence.

   • As soon as I entered the restaurant, I smelled something nice.

     👍You can use this order in Japanese
   • I smelled something nice as soon as I entered the restaurant.

     👎You shouldn’t use this order in Japanese!

   This means that とたん (transcribed totan) will almost never come at the end of a complete sentence.

4. Don’t use とたん [totan] with a negative verb

   The word とたん (transcribed totan) is only used after actions that actually happened, so you shouldn’t use it after a negative verb.

   ❌ 雨が降らなかったとたん、外に出た。

   Transcription: Ame ga furanakatta totan, soto ni deta.

   Translation: As soon as it didn’t rain, I went outside.

   You’ll notice it sounds strange in English too! This is one reason why とたん (transcribed totan) is more like “as soon as” than “when,” which would probably sound fine in the sentence above.

In Japanese, we use ばかり (transcribed bakari) to mark something that just happened. Because the action it marks is always complete, ばかり (transcribed bakari) will always follow the past tense.

Phrases with ばかり (transcribed bakari) are often used to describe a noun. Notice that the phrase with ばかり (transcribed bakari) will come before the noun, and the particle の (transcribed no) is used to connect them.

Keep in mind, though, that ばかり (transcribed bakari) is only used with actions that actually happened, so it’s not used after negative verbs.

So if you want to say something like “I didn’t just eat,” you won’t use ばかり (transcribed bakari) in Japanese.

You can also use ところ (transcribed tokoro) to mark something that happened “just now.” It’s also usually used after the ta-form.

You can use an event marked by ところ (transcribed tokoro) to describe the time of another event, when telling a story. In this use, it will often mark an action that was still in progress when the main event happened. This makes it different from とたん (transcribed totan), which marks finished actions.

• テレビを見ていたところ、ドアのベルがなった。

  Transcription: Terebi o miteita tokoro, doa no beru ga natta.

  Translation: Just when I was watching TV, the doorbell rang.

  You were still watching TV when the doorbell rang.
• テレビをつけたとたん、ドアのベルがなった。

  Transcription: Terebi o tsuketa totan, doa no beru ga natta.

  Translation: As soon as I turned on the TV, the doorbell rang.

  You had finished turning on the TV before the doorbell rang.

In this post, we’ve talked about how to use とたん (transcribed totan), ばかり (transcribed bakari), and ところ (transcribed tokoro) to describe back-to-back events. Here’s a quick summary:

• とたん (transcribed totan) is used like “as soon as,” though it only describes past events when the second action is out of the speaker’s control.

• ばかり (transcribed bakari) means “just,” and it describes an action that is subjectively recent.

• ところ (transcribed tokoro) means “just now,” and describes an action that is objectively recent.

Ready to practice what you’ve learned? Check out these とたん (transcribed totan), ばかり (transcribed bakari), and ところ (transcribed tokoro) exercises! Happy learning!