Decoded Slug: ～か～ないかのうちに (〜ka〜naika no uchi ni)
Japanese JLPT Grammar Point
～か～ないかのうちに (〜ka〜naika no uchi ni)
～か～ないかのうちに (〜ka〜naika no uchi ni)
Short explanation:
Expresses an action that occurs immediately after another action; 'as soon as', 'no sooner than', 'the moment'.
Formation:
Verb-casual + か + Verb-negative form + かのうちに
Examples:
駅に着くか着かないかのうちに、雨が降り出した。
Eki ni tsuku ka tsukanai ka no uchi ni, ame ga furidashita.
The moment I arrived at the station, it started raining.
ケータイを買ったか買わないかのうちに、新しいモデルが発売された。
Keitai wo katta ka kawanai ka no uchi ni, atarashii moderu ga hatsubai sareta.
As soon as I bought the cell phone, a new model was released.
彼が家を出るか出ないかのうちに、電話が鳴った。
Kare ga ie wo deru ka denai ka no uchi ni, denwa ga natta.
The moment he left the house, the phone rang.
パーティーが始まるか始まらないかのうちに、彼女が泣き出した。
Paatii ga hajimaru ka hajimaranai ka no uchi ni, kanojo ga nakidashita.
As soon as the party began, she started crying.
Long explanation:
The ～か～ないかのうちに grammar point is used to express that an action occurs immediately after another action. In English, it can be translated as 'as soon as', 'no sooner than', or 'the moment'. This grammar point is used with verbs only, and the verb appears twice in the construction, with か and ないか respectively.
