connective N1 uncommon politewritten
〜がてら — while doing ~
〜がてら ・ がてら
Builds on 連用形（ます形）
Meaning
- while (mainly) doing ~, also ~ — does a secondary thing on the occasion of a main action, often involving movement
Key sentence
散歩がてら、パンを買ってきた。
On my walk, I also picked up some bread.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action noun or masu-stem | N(動作性)／V-ます-stem + がてら |
When: Casual; leans toward motion verbs — the two acts share one outing.
Examples
買い物がてら、図書館に寄った。
While out shopping, I dropped by the library.
運動がてら、駅まで歩くことにした。
I decided to walk to the station, partly for the exercise.
Easily confused with
ついでに ついでに tacks an extra task onto a main one ('while I'm at it'). がてら frames the main act and the side-purpose as one combined outing, often with movement. を兼ねて を兼ねて deliberately makes one act fulfil two set purposes. がてら is more casual and incidental. 〜ながら ながら does two things literally at the same moment. がてら does the side thing as part of the same outing, not necessarily simultaneously.
See 〜がてら in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜がてら the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.