"Listening to music while doing homework." "Eating while watching TV." To express doing two things simultaneously, Japanese uses ながら.
How to Attach It: ます-Stem + ながら
Verb ます-form → drop ます → add ながら
Exactly the same attachment point as たい — just swap たい for ながら.
| Verb | ます-form | ながら-form |
|---|---|---|
| 聞く | 聞きます | 聞きながら |
| 食べる | 食べます | 食べながら |
| 見る | 見ます | 見ながら |
| 歩く | 歩きます | 歩きながら |
| 飲む | 飲みます | 飲みながら |
Sentence Structure
A ながら、B。 = While doing A, do B.
The ながら part is the secondary action (what you're doing on the side), and the main verb at the end is the primary action. Tense and polarity follow the main verb.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 弟は音楽を聞きながら宿題を書きます。 | My brother writes homework while listening to music. |
| 兄はご飯を食べながらテレビを見ます。 | My brother watches TV while eating. |
| コーヒーを飲みながら新聞を読みます。 | I read the newspaper while drinking coffee. |
| 歩きながら電話をします。 | I talk on the phone while walking. |
The ながら Part Is the Secondary Action
The action before ながら is what you're doing "on the side," while the final verb is the main focus. Although both translate to "while" in English, Japanese distinguishes primary from secondary:
音楽を聞きながら勉強します。
- Primary action: 勉強します (studying)
- Secondary action: 音楽を聞きます (listening to music)
- → Studying while listening to music (focus: studying)
Reversed:
勉強しながら音楽を聞きます。
- Primary action: 音楽を聞きます (listening to music)
- Secondary action: 勉強します (studying)
- → Listening to music while studying (focus: listening)
Similar meaning, different emphasis.
Tense Follows the Main Verb
ながら itself doesn't change form. The sentence's tense is determined by the final verb:
| Tense | Example |
|---|---|
| Present | 音楽を聞きながら勉強します。 |
| Past | 音楽を聞きながら勉強しました。 |
| Negative | 音楽を聞きながら勉強しません。 |
Important: Same Subject Required
Both actions connected by ながら must be performed by the same person. You can't use ながら when two different people are doing the two actions:
弟は音楽を聞きながら宿題を書きます。 → Brother listens to music while writing homework. (same person)
私は音楽を聞きながら弟は宿題を書きます。(different people — can't use ながら)
Summary
- Verb ます-stem + ながら = "while doing..."
- The ながら clause is the secondary action; the main verb is the primary action
- Tense is determined by the main verb
- Both actions must have the same subject
Practice Quiz
Q1. How do you say "I listen to music while walking" in Japanese?
Show Answer
歩きながら音楽を聞きます。
歩く → ます-form: 歩きます → drop ます → 歩き → add ながら → 歩きながら. Walking is the secondary action; listening to music is the main action.
Q2. What does 「ご飯を食べながらテレビを見ました」 mean?
Show Answer
I watched TV while eating. (past tense)
食べながら = while eating, テレビを見ました = watched TV. The tense comes from the final verb 「見ました」.
Q3. Is this sentence correct? 「私は歌いながら弟は踊ります。」
Show Answer
No, it's incorrect. The two actions connected by ながら must be done by the same person. This sentence has two different subjects (私 and 弟).
A correct version: 弟は歌いながら踊ります。 → My brother dances while singing.