when ..., at the time of ...

Toki after a plain-form verb, an adjective, or a noun plus no means when that situation holds: hima na toki means when I am free. The clause before toki modifies it like a noun. The main clause follows and carries the tense.

Examples

• 暇ひまなとき、音楽おんがくを聞き[きき]ます。

  Hima na toki, ongaku o kikimasu.

  When I am free, I listen to music.

• 子供こどものとき、東京とうきょうに住すんでいました。

  Kodomo no toki, Toukyou ni sunde imashita.

  When I was a child, I lived in Tokyo.

Vocabulary in these examples

• 暇 free (time); idle
• 音楽 music
• 聞く to listen; to ask
• 子供 child
• 住む to live; to reside
• いる to exist (animate); to be

Related patterns · Modifiers

• 〜の（もの） one, mine (の replacing a noun)