| JLPT N3. Standard grammar. Used in both conversation and writing. |
うちに translates as “while” in English and is best understood in contrast to 間に which we met here. As we have seen, 間に is used with the present participle. In other words, it is used when another action is taking place. うちに, on the other hand, is used to express that something happened while a certain condition or situation exists.
It appends directly to verbs and i-adjectives, but requires の when it follows nouns and な when it follows na-adjectives.
| 大学生のうちに、いろんな体験をしたほうがいい。 |
| While you’re a university student, you should experience lots of different things. |
Being a university student isn’t an action you can perform and thus we cannot use 間に.
| 冷めないうちに食べてください。 |
| Please eat while it’s hot. |
| あの女性が２０代に立ち上げた会社を売却してまだ若いうちに引退したらしい。 |
| Apparently that lady sold the company she founded in her 20’s and retired while still young. |
| この演劇が月末までだと聞いたから、できるうちに見に行こうよ。 |
| I heard that this play is on until the end of the month so let’s go while we can. |
| 来週から仕事が忙しくなるから時間があるうちに準備しておきましょう。 |
| Work is going to get busy from next week so let’s prepare while we have time. |