The Particle ながら I: Simultaneous Action
In this lesson, you will be introduced to the particle nagara ながら. This particle is a conjunctive particle that is typically used to mean “while” in the sense of doing two things at the same time or in the same time span. Because using it will require conjugation, we’ll look at that first before delving into how it’s used.
| Ichidan Verbs | 見る ＋ながら ＝ 見ながらMiru + nagara = Minagara |
| Godan Verbs | 飲む ＋ ながら ＝ 飲みながらNomu + nagara = Nominagara |
| Suru | する ＋ ながら = しながらSuru + nagara = shinagara |
| Kuru | 来る ＋ ながら ＝ きながらKuru + nagara = kinagara |
As you can see, using nagara ながら from the point of conjugation is no different than using –masu ます.
Simultaneous Action
The primary use of nagara ながら is to show simultaneous action or in the same time span. The clauses of the sentence you make must have the same subject, and the main verb of the sentence is found in the latter clause.
1. テレビを見ながらご飯を食べる。
Terebi wo minagara gohan wo taberu.
To eat one’s meal while watching TV.
2. ご飯を食べながらテレビを見る。
Gohan wo tabenagara terebi wo miru.
To watch TV while eating one’s meal.
As you can see, nagara ながら stands for the “while” in these two sentences. The primary action is also clearly different. This is an incredibly important point because it is not always the case that switching the verb that has nagara ながら results in a sensible statement.
3a. 泣きながら玉ねぎを切っていました。○
Nakinagara tamanegi wo kitte imashita.
I was cutting up onions with tears streaming down.
3b. 玉ねぎを切りながら泣いていました。??
Tamanegi wo kirinagara naite imashita.
I was crying as I was cutting up onions.
You are cutting onions while crying because the onions are undoubtedly making you cry. In Japanese, this is expressed with 3a. Let’s say, for some odd reason, your other half decided to break up with you over Facebook right before you began to prepare yourself a meal containing onion. Way before you cut into the first onion, you’re already shedding a large volume of tears. In this situation, 3b. would make sense. Although the English could still imply cause-and-effect between “crying” and “cutting onions,” the onions are not the cause of crying in 3b as is the case in 3a.
4. 辞書で知らない単語を調べながら、フランス語の本を読みたいと思います。○
Jisho wo shiranai tango wo shirabenagara, Furansugo no hon wo yomitai to omoimasu.
I want to read a French book while looking up words I don’t know with a dictionary.
フランス語の本を読みながら辞書で知らない単語を調べたいと思います。??
Furansugo no hon wo yominagara jisho de shiranai tango wo shirabetai to omoimasu.
I want to look up words I don’t know about as I’m reading a French book.
You’ve just received a French novel for the first time. Excited, you also realize that a dictionary will be your best friend to look up words you don’t know in said book. Because reading the book is the primary action, the first sentence is what makes sense. Now, say you are randomly looking up words you don’t happen to know irrespective of the French book you’re reading. Maybe you decide to look up Spanish words randomly instead. In such an odd situation, the latter may make sense, but you’d best explain yourself.
More Examples
5. 天津で働きながら中国語を学んでいます。
Tenshin de hatarakinagara chūgokugo wo manande imasu.
I’m studying Chinese while working in Tianjin.
6. 歩きながら読書をするのはとても危険です。
Arukinagara dokusho wo suru no wa totemo kiken desu.
Reading a book while walking is very dangerous.
7. コーヒーを飲みながら、ゆっくりと会話しましょう。
Kōhii wo nominagara, yukkuri to kaiwa shimashō.
Let’s converse slowly while we drink coffee.
8. 車を運転しながら電話をしてはいけません。
Kuruma wo unten shinagara, denwa wo shite wa ikemasen.
You mustn’t talk on the phone while driving a car.
9. 先生の話を聞きながら、ノートにメモを取ります。
Sensei no hanashi wo kikinagara, nōto ni memo wo torimasu.
I take notes in my notebook while listening to my teacher.
10. ご飯食べながら話さないで、行儀が悪いのよ！ (Feminine)
Gohan tabenagara hanasaide, gyōgi ga warui no yo!
Don’t talk while eating your food; what bad manners!
11. 電話で話しながらタバコを吸うのはマナー違反だと思いませんか。
Denwa de hanashinagara tabako wo sū no wa manā ihan da to omoimasen ka?
Don’t you think smoking while talking on the phone is a breach of etiquette?
12. 宿題しながらピザを食ってて気づいたらなくなっていた。
Shukudai shinagara piza wo kuttete kizuitara nakunatte ita.
I was eating pizza while doing my homework, but once I noticed it was gone.
13. 晴れた日に好きな音楽を聴きながらドライブ（を）するのって至福のひと時だと思いません？
Hareta hi ni suki na ongaku wo kikinagara doraibu (wo) suru no tte shifuku no hitotoki da to omoimasen ka?
Don’t you think driving while listening to your favorite music on a clear day is a blissful moment?
14. 私は新聞を読みながら、バスを待っていました。
Watashi wa shimbun wo yominagara, basu wo matte imashita.
I was waiting for the bus while reading the newspaper.
15. 町の銀行で働きながら、気象予報士の勉強をしています。
Machi no ginkō de hatarakinagara, kishō yohōshi no benkyō wo shite imasu.
I’m studying to be a weather forecaster while working at the town bank.
16. ともかく、人は悩みながら生きるしかないんですか。
Tomokaku, hito wa nayaminagara ikiru shika nai n desu ka?
Anyhow, do people have no choice but to live in worry?
17. 聴衆の人たちも笑顔を見せながら熱心に聞いていた。
Chōshū no hitotachi mo egao wo misenagara nesshin ni kiite ita.
The people in the audience were also listening with enthusiasm while showing smiles in their faces.
18. 部活もやりながら、塾に通っていました。
Bukatsu mo yarinagara, juku ni kayotte imashita.
I was attended cram school while also doing club activities.
19. 大学に通いながら、月に60万円くらい稼いでいました。
Daigaku ni kayoinagara, tsuki ni rokujūman’en kurai kaseide imashita.
I was earning about 600,000 yen a month while attending college.
20. 洗濯が終わるのを待ちながら、明日の準備をしています。
Sentaku ga owaru no wo machinagara, ashita no jumbi wo shite imasu.
I’m doing preparations for tomorrow while waiting for the wash to finish.
21. 乗客の前でカップ麺を食べながら運転する。
Jōkyaku no mae de kappumen wo tabenagara unten suru.
To drive while eating cup noodles in front of passengers.
22. 料理しながら、同時に片付けも出来るんですよ。
Ryōri shinagara, dōji ni katazuke mo dekiru n desu yo.
It’s possible to clean up simultaneously while cooking, you know.
23. 私は毎日、図書館で色々な資料を調べながら、漢字や文法など勉強しています。
Watashi wa mainichi, toshokan de iroiro na shiryō wo shirabenagara, kanji ya bumpō nado benkyō shite imasu.
I’m studying Kanji and grammar in the library every day while examining various materials.
24. 電話をかけながらや、LINEなどのテキストメッセージを打ちながら注文をすることは店員さんに対して、あまりにも失礼な行為なんですよ。
Denwa wo kakenagara ya, Rain nado no tekisuto messēji wo uchinagara chūmon wo suru koto wa ten’intachi ni tai shite, amari ni mo shitsurei na kōi na n desu yo.
Ordering while being on the phone or typing text messages on LINE and such is beyond rude behavior toward employees.
Grammar Note: As this sentence demonstrates, nagara ながら can interestingly accept certain particles like ya や at times. This shows that it is somewhat noun-like. In this example, there is a need to refer to more than one ancillary verb phrase that is done with the same verb, and rather than repeating the same thing twice with slightly different context, just using nagara ya ながらや makes everything easier.
Instantaneous Verbs X
Using nagara ながら with verbs that describe instant occurrences is incorrect. Therefore, it cannot be used with verbs like shinu 死ぬ, tsuku つく, kieru 消える, etc. For verbs that take hardly any time at all to take place, if the main action takes more time than the secondary verb in the first clause with nagara ながら, then the usage is incorrect.
25. 座りながら話しませんか。X
Suwarinagara hanashimasen ka?
座って話しませんか。○
Suwatte hanashimasen ka?
How about we sit and talk?
Te て or Nagara ながら?
Sometimes, using nagara ながら may resemble using the particle te て since the verb that goes with nagara ながら is a secondary action. However, ancillary actions described with te て tend to be means by which to do something or condition by which things happen. This difference means that te て and nagara ながら can indeed coexist in the same sentence.
26. 車での通勤時に必ずテープを聞いて英語を勉強しています。
Kuruma de no tsūkinji ni kanarazu tēpu wo kiite eigo wo benkyō shite imasu.
I’m studying English by always listening to tapes when I commute by car.
27. 車で通勤しているときは必ず英会話のテープを聴きながら運転します。
Kuruma de tsūkin shite iru toki wa kanarazu eikaiwa no tēpu wo kikinagara unten shite imasu.
I’m driving while always listening to English conversation times when commuting by car.
28. 文化も、時代の流れに合わせて進化しながら変わっていかなければなりません。
Bunka mo, jidai no nagare ni awasete shinka shinagara kawatte ikanakereba narimasen.
Culture must also change as it evolves along with the trends of the times.
29. 犬の散歩をしながら歩きタバコをする人は迷惑だ。
Inu no sampo wo shinagara aruki-tabako wo suru hito wa meiwaku da.
People who smoke and walk while walking their dogs are bothers.
Grammar Note: Some nagara ながら expressions refer to two actions done in tandem so much so that they result in set phrases without nagara ながら. This explains aruki-tabako歩きタバコ. Other examples include aruki-sumaho 歩きスマホ (using one’s smart phone while walking), tabearuki 食べ歩き (eating while walking), etc.
Nagara-zoku ながら族
Nagara-zoku ながら族 is a set phrase that refers to people who do all sorts of things while they’re supposed to be focusing on work or the like. As is the case in this sentence, it can be used as a nice context to string several nagara ながら phrases together.
30. ながら族って、大勢いるんじゃないですか。俺だって、携帯電話を見ながら、テレビを見ながら、お酒を飲みながら、お菓子を食べながら、頭を掻きながら、パソコンでRedditの質問に回答しています。
Nagara-zoku tte, ōzei iru n ja nai desu ka? Ore datte, keitai denwa wo minagara, terebi wo minagara,osake wo nominagara, okashi wo tabenagara, atama wo kakinagara, pasokon de reditto no shitsumon ni kaitō shite imasu.
Aren’t there lots of people who do all sorts of stuff while they’re working? Like even me, I’m answering questions on Reddit on my computer while looking at my cellphone, while watching TV, while drinking liquor, while eating sweets, while scratching my head, etc.