～とき
when / at the time of
～とき tells when something happens. The word とき (時) is simply the noun “time”, and the words before it describe which time you mean, “the time when I was a child”, “the time when I eat”.
For English speakers, it works like “when ...” at the start of a sentence.
1. With a noun: Noun + のとき
To say “when I was a child” or “when it's summer”, connect the noun to とき with the particle の.
子供のとき、よく泳ぎました。
“When I was a child, I often swam.”
- 子供（こども）= child
- の = connects the noun to とき (like “of”)
- とき = when / time
- よく = often
- 泳ぎました（およぎました）= swam
2. With a verb: plain form + とき
A verb in the plain form goes directly before とき, with no particle in between.
ご飯を食べるとき、「いただきます」と言います。
“When we eat, we say 'itadakimasu'.”
- ご飯（ごはん）= meal / rice
- を = object marker
- 食べる（たべる）= to eat
- とき = when
- いただきます = set phrase said before eating
- と = quotation marker
- 言います（いいます）= say
A comma usually follows the とき clause, just like the comma after “When ...” in English.
How to form it
Noun + の + とき ／ plain form + とき
- 子供（こども）= child → 子供のとき（こどものとき）= when (I) was a child
- 寒い（さむい）= cold → 寒いとき（さむいとき）= when it is cold
- 暇な（ひまな）= free (na-adjective) → 暇なとき（ひまなとき）= when (I) am free
Key idea
とき is just the noun “time” with a description in front of it: “the time when ...”. Whatever comes before とき tells you which time the rest of the sentence happens at.
Other N5 grammar
Updated .