Decoded Slug: ~자마자 [jamaja] (As soon as)
Korean Grammar Point
~자마자 [jamaja] (As soon as)
~자마자 [jamaja] (As soon as)
Short explanation:
Used to indicate that event B occurs immediately after event A.
Formation:
Verb stem + 자마자
Examples:
학교에 도착하자마자 친구를 만났어요. 아침에 너무 바빠서 전화도 못 했어요.
Hakgyoe dochakhamjamaja chingureul mannasseoyo. Achime neomu bappaseo jeonhwado mot haesseoyo.
As soon as I arrived at school, I met my friend. I was so busy in the morning that I couldn't even call.
문을 열자마자 고양이가 나가버렸어요. 한시도 쉬지 않고 찾아야 했어요.
Muneul yeoljamaja goyangiga nagabeoryeosseoyo. Hansido swiji anhgo chajaya haesseoyo.
As soon as I opened the door, the cat ran out. I had to search without resting for a moment.
비행기가 착륙하자마자 핸드폰을 켰어요. 중요한 전화가 있을 줄 알았어요.
Bihaenggiga chakryukhamjamaja haendeuponeul kyeosseoyo. Jungyohan jeonhwaga isseul jul alasseoyo.
As soon as the airplane landed, I turned on my cell phone. I thought there would be an important call.
집에 돌아오자마자 씻었어요. 오늘 너무 더워서 꼭 씻어야 했어요.
Jibe doraojamaja ssisseosseoyo. Oneul neomu deowoseo ggok ssisseoya haesseoyo.
As soon as I got home, I took a shower. It was so hot today that I had to shower.
Long explanation:
'~자마자 [jamaja]' is a conjugation used in Korean to indicate that an event B occurs immediately or directly after event A. It is akin to 'as soon as' in English. It is commonly used when you want to emphasize that there was no gap or delay between two actions. The action expressed in the first clause comes directly without any pause after the action in the second clause.
