N4 · Linking clauses
Two things at once: ながら
ながら (while doing)
The ます-stem plus ながら: one person doing two things, with the main one at the end.
To say that one person does two things at the same time, take the ます-stem of the first verb and add ながら: 音楽を聞きながら勉強します, "I study while listening to music". The stem is the form before ます: 聞き, 食べ, し.
The two actions are not equal. The verb at the end of the sentence is the main action; the ながら verb is what goes on in the background. So the sentence above is about studying, with music on. Swap them — 勉強しながら音楽を聞きます — and it is about listening to music, with a book open. English "while" puts the background in the "while" clause too, so the instinct is usually right, but it is worth checking which action you mean to be the point.
Both actions must have the same subject. For two people doing two things, ながら is wrong and Japanese uses 間 or とき: 私が料理をしている間、夫は掃除をしていました. This is the commonest mistake, because English "while" happily joins two different people.
The ながら verb never takes tense or politeness — the last verb does that for both. And the "same time" can be long: 働きながら大学に通っています is "I am going to university while working", over months, not seconds.
The form
stem (regular) stem (irregular) ending
| きく (listen) → while listening | 聞きながら |
| あるく (walk) → while walking | 歩きながら |
| たべる (eat) → while eating | 食べながら |
| みる (watch) → while watching | 見ながら |
| する (do) → while doing | しながら |
| in a sentence | 音楽を聞きながら勉強します。 |
The rules one by one
ながら goes on the ます-stem of the background action.
コーヒーを飲みながら、新聞を読みます。I read the paper while drinking coffee.
The verb at the end is the main action and carries tense and politeness for both.
歩きながら話しましょう。Let's talk as we walk.
Both actions must belong to the same person; for two people, use あいだ or とき.
子供が寝ている間に、洗濯をしました。I did the washing while the children were asleep.
The two actions can run in parallel over a long period, not only at one moment.
母は家族の世話をしながら、小説を書き続けました。My mother kept writing novels while looking after the family.
A closer look
Which action goes where
The test for word order is simple: which action would you name if someone asked "what were you doing?" That one goes at the end. If you were studying and the radio happened to be on, it is ラジオを聞きながら勉強していました.
This is also why ながら can carry a slight disapproval when the main action deserved full attention: スマホを見ながら歩かないで, "don't walk while looking at your phone" — the walking is the main thing, and the phone is stealing attention from it.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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ながら follows a state rather than an action — ている, a noun, or a word such as 残念
it means "although", not "while".
残念ながら、明日のパーティーには行けません。Unfortunately, I can't come to the party tomorrow.
A state cannot be "done at the same time" as anything, so the meaning shifts to two facts that coexist uneasily. This use belongs mostly to written and set phrases.
How to spot it
- 〜ながら
- 〜きながら
- 〜しながら
- 〜みながら
Example sentences
テレビを見ながら、ご飯を食べないでください。Please don't eat in front of the television.
彼はいつも歌いながらシャワーを浴びます。He always sings in the shower.
地図を見ながら、駅まで歩きました。I walked to the station following the map.
先生は笑いながら説明してくれました。The teacher explained it with a smile.
運転しながら電話をするのは危ないです。Talking on the phone while driving is dangerous.
子育てをしながら、会社で働いています。I work at a company while bringing up my children.
7 more example sentences
音楽を聞きながら、料理をするのが好きです。I like cooking with music on.
お茶を飲みながら、ゆっくり話しましょう。Let's have a cup of tea and a proper chat.
彼女は泣きながら手紙を読みました。She read the letter in tears.
辞書を引きながら、日本語の本を読んでいます。I am reading a Japanese book with a dictionary at hand.
歩きながらスマホを見るのはやめましょう。Let's not look at our phones while walking.
父は新聞を読みながら、朝ご飯を食べます。My father eats breakfast reading the newspaper.
アルバイトをしながら、大学に通っています。I go to university and work part-time at the same time.
Worth knowing (1)
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ながら in set expressions
A few set expressions use ながら after a noun or a fixed stem in the sense of "as it is" or "in that state": 昔ながらの (as in the old days), 生まれながらの (born, by nature). They are worth recognising, because the verb-stem rule does not explain them.
この町には昔ながらの店がたくさんあります。This town has lots of shops that are just as they always were.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "while" can join two different people: "While I watched TV, my mother cooked." ながら cannot. It describes one person doing two things, so with two subjects Japanese switches to 間 (for the whole time) or 間に (at some point during).
ながら is one person, two actions — and the one at the end is the one that matters.
Your turn
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