Word
晴れて いる うち に、 スーパー へ 出かけます。harete iru uchi ni, suupaa e dekakemasu.
Meaning
I’ll go out to the supermarket while it’s still sunny.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of harete iru uchi ni, suupaa e dekakemasu.
〜て いる〜te iru
progressive form
へe
direction particle
うち にuchi ni
while; during the time when
晴れるhareru
to be sunny
Questions & Answers about harete iru uchi ni, suupaa e dekakemasu.
What does 晴れているうちに mean as a grammar pattern?
〜うちに means while ... is the case, during the time that ..., or before ... changes.
So 晴れているうちに means:
- while it’s sunny
- while the weather is still good
- before it stops being sunny
In this sentence, the speaker is saying they will go to the supermarket while the weather is nice, presumably before rain or bad weather starts.
Why is it 晴れている instead of just 晴れる or 晴れた?
This is a very common question.
晴れる means to clear up / to become sunny.
晴れている describes the current state: it is sunny / the sky is clear.
So:
- 晴れる = it becomes sunny
- 晴れている = it is sunny
- 晴れた = it became sunny / it was sunny
Because うちに here refers to the period during which it is sunny, 晴れている is the natural choice.
What exactly is the role of に in うちに?
