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Formation: V-dictionary / V-ている / V-ない + うちに; い-adj + うちに; な-adj + な + うちに; N + の + うちに

〜うちに has two main uses. First, it means 'while a state lasts, do something before it changes' (若いうちに, 熱いうちに). The main clause is usually volitional, such as an intention, advice or an order, and carries a sense of 'before it's too late'. V-ないうちに means 'before X happens' (暗くならないうちに). Second, with continuing actions such as V-ている or 何度も V, it means that while X was going on, a change happened without anyone planning it (話しているうちに仲良くなった). In this use the main clause describes a change, not the speaker's will. It is common in both speech and writing. Compare 間に, which simply marks a time frame, and 前に, which is a neutral 'before'; うちに adds the idea of using the time while you can.

Variants: ないうちに、ているうちに、うちは (as long as, contrastive)

Examples

• 若いうちに、いろいろな国を旅しておきたい。
  I want to travel to lots of countries while I'm still young.
• 暗くならないうちに、家に帰りなさい。
  Go home before it gets dark.
• 何度も聞いているうちに、その曲が好きになった。
  After listening to it again and again, I came to like the song.

In real texts 0 occurrence(s)

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