-자
ja
Grammar · 1 sense
as, when, while
Examples
창문을 열자 바람이 들어왔다.
As I opened the window, the wind came in.
의자에 앉자 잠들었다.
I fell asleep as I sat down.
차에서 연기가 나자 운전사는 차에서 뛰쳐나왔다.
The driver rushed out of the car as smoke started coming out of it.
When you'd hear it
This sense appears often in written narratives, news reports, and dramatic storytelling. It is also possible in speech, but casual conversation more often uses familiar alternatives such as -자마자 or -니까.
What learners get wrong
Learners often treat -자 as identical to -자마자, but -자 can mean “when/as” without stressing the exact instant of completion. It also differs from -(으)면서, which presents two actions as continuing together.
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