～ながら
while / although
～ながら attaches to the ます-stem of a verb and links it to a second action, meaning “while doing”. Both actions are done by the same person at the same time.
The verb before ながら is the background action; the verb at the end of the sentence is the main one. So 音楽を聞きながら勉強する means you are mainly studying, with music in the background.
1. Two simultaneous actions
Use ～ながら for everyday multitasking: eating while watching, walking while talking, and so on.
音楽を聞きながら勉強する。
“I study while listening to music.”
- 音楽（おんがく）= music
- を = object marker
- 聞きながら（ききながら）= while listening
- 勉強する（べんきょうする）= to study
歩きながら話しましょう。
“Let's talk while we walk.”
- 歩きながら（あるきながら）= while walking
- 話しましょう（はなしましょう）= let's talk
2. Contrast: “although”
In a more formal use, ～ながら can mean “although”: the second clause goes against what the first leads you to expect. You will also see it in set phrases like 残念ながら（ざんねんながら）, “unfortunately”.
彼は本当のことを知っていながら、何も言わなかった。
“Although he knew the truth, he said nothing.”
- 彼（かれ）= he
- は = topic marker
- 本当のこと（ほんとうのこと）= the truth
- を = object marker
- 知っていながら（しっていながら）= although (he) knew
- 何も（なにも）= nothing (with a negative)
- 言わなかった（いわなかった）= didn't say
How to form it
Verb ます-stem + ながら
- 聞く（きく）= to listen → 聞きながら（ききながら）= while listening
- 食べる（たべる）= to eat → 食べながら（たべながら）= while eating
- 歩く（あるく）= to walk → 歩きながら（あるきながら）= while walking
Key idea
ながら glues a background action onto a main one: “while doing A, do B”, where B, the sentence-final verb, is the point of the sentence. In its formal use, the same pattern sometimes turns into “although A, B”.
Built on the same stem
Updated .