connective N3 common casualpolitewritten
〜ないうちに — before ~ (happens)
〜ないうちに ・ ないうちに
Builds on ない形
Meaning
- before ~ happens / while ~ still hasn't happened — do something during the window before an (often unwelcome) change sets in
Key sentence
暗くならないうちに帰ろう。
Let's go home before it gets dark.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (ない-form) | V-ない + うちに | 忘れる → 忘れないうちに / 雨が降る → 降らないうちに |
Examples
料理が冷めないうちに召し上がってください。
Please eat while the food is still hot (before it gets cold).
母が起きないうちに、こっそり家を出た。
I slipped out of the house before my mother woke up.
忘れないうちにメモしておこう。
Let me jot it down before I forget.
When you can't use it
- 〜ないうちに frames the action as seizing the window before a change occurs, so the main clause is usually something you do on purpose to beat that change. It isn't a neutral 'before': for plain sequencing of two events, 〜前に is the unmarked choice.
Easily confused with
前に 前に is the neutral 'before ~ing' that just orders two events (寝る前に歯を磨く). 〜ないうちに adds urgency — act now, before an undesirable change happens (暗くならないうちに = 'before it gets dark on us'). うちに Affirmative 〜うちに means 'while the favourable state lasts' (元気なうちに = 'while you're still healthy'). The negative 〜ないうちに means 'before the state changes for the worse' — the same window seen from the opposite side.
See 〜ないうちに in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜ないうちに 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.