～ながら (nagara) – Doing Two Things at Once in Japanese

Ever watched Netflix while eating dinner? Or studied Japanese while listening to music? That’s exactly what ～ながら lets you express in Japanese!

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• What ～ながら means
• How to form it (it's easier than it looks!)
• A quick note on multitasking
• Practice examples to try yourself

Let’s multitask our way into this grammar point 👇

What Does ～ながら Mean?

「～ながら」means “while doing…” or “as I do…” — used when two actions are happening at the same time.

• Walking while talking
• Listening to music while working
• Cooking while watching YouTube

It’s used when the subject is the same for both actions.

How to Use ～ながら

Here’s how to form it:

➡ Take the ます-form of a verb, drop ます, and add ながら.

Examples:

• たべます → たべながら (tabenagara) – while eating
• ききます → ききながら (kikinagara) – while listening
• あるきます → あるきながら (arukinagara) – while walking
• はなします → はなしながら (hanashinagara) – while talking

Put your “main” or “more important” action after ～ながら.

Examples

🧃 テレビを見ながら、ごはんを食べます。
I eat while watching TV.

📱 スマホをさわりながら、歩かないでください。
Please don’t walk while looking at your phone. ← Common sign in Japan!

🎧 音楽を聴きながら、勉強します。
I study while listening to music.

Multitasking with ながら作業

In Japanese, the phrase ながら作業 (nagara sagyō) refers to multitasking—usually doing something like listening to music or watching TV while working or studying.

You’ll often hear:

• ながら作業 できないタイプです。
  (I’m the type who can’t multitask.)
• ながら作業 のほうがはかどる！
  (I get more done when multitasking!)
• ながら作業 は やめなさい！
  (Stop multitasking!) - probably from a parent to a distracted child...

Sometimes it's used with a tone of "you did it while multitasking so the result probably isn't great 🙄" but well, we're all busy here.

Try It Yourself!

How would you say…

1. “I worked while drinking coffee.”
→ コーヒーを飲みながら、仕事をしました。☕️

2. “Please don’t talk while eating.”
→ 食べながら、話さないでください。

3. “I listened to music while cleaning.”
→ 音楽を聴きながら、掃除しました。

Key Points to Remember

• ～ながら = “while doing”
• Use when one person is doing two actions at the same time
• Use verb stem + ながら
• Action that comes after ながら is usually the main focus

Did you read this article while listening to music? 音楽を聴きながら、この記事を読みましたか？🎧