How would I say "when [x] happened"?


First off, I understand the use of ～の時 (when). However, with my current
knowledge, this doesn't make sense if I try to use it with verbs in phrases
such as "when I woke up". It's probably quite obvious, but how would I
structure "when [x] did [verb]" or "when [event/action] happened"?




It's not quite so clear cut as you may hope, as with a large portion of
Japanese which translates badly.

If you want "when" as a general sense, such as "When I was a student", append
頃{ころ} to it at the end.

> 学生{がくせい}の頃{ころ} When (I) was a student.

Generally, 時{とき} refers to what you want, which you use for verbs. There's no
need for a の, just place 〜時{とき} after the verb. The issue comes with present
or past tense verbs, and when to use which. Your sentence, just to point out
at this point, is:

> 起{お}きた時{とき} When (I) woke up.

-- _Present vs Past Tense_ --

Use the past tense when you've already done an action. For instance, "Pay when
you get off the bus" in English is ambiguous in Japanese. Here, there are 2
options, each with a different meaning.

> バスを降{お}り **る** 時{とき}払{はら}ってください Pay when you get off the bus (ie, just
> before you walk out of the bus
>
> バスを降{お}り **た** 時{とき}払{はら}ってください Pay when you have gotten off the bus (ie,
> once you're off the bus)

In this sense, use the past tense, even when something's happening in the
future, but to show that something's already happened from the point of view
of you in that frame of reference in the future. Confusing. Take another
example:

> 日本へ行く時困りますか？

When you're talking about going to Japan, in your head, you're imagining
yourself at that time. This sentence talks more about that you'll have trouble
when you go to Japan, say at the airport. We can contrast this with
日本へ行った時困りますか？, which references that you'll have trouble after you've arrived
in Japan. Even though both of these things from the POV of _now_ are in the
future, you aren't seeing it that way in Japanese, you're seeing it from the
reference of you at that time.

Back to your sentence.

It makes no sense to say "when I woke up" as 起きる時 unless you're actually
talking about the time when you were still asleep but just about to wake up.
I'm pretty certain you didn't mean this. If you want to say "when i woke up
this morning my cat (who we'll name "Nyan") was setting on my bed", you just
put yourself into the shoes of your past self, who has already woken up, and
has seen Nyan on their bed.

> 今朝起きた時ニャンがベッドに座っていました。




It's not quite so clear cut as you may hope, as with a large portion of
Japanese which translates badly.

If you want "when" as a general sense, such as "When I was a student", append
頃{ころ} to it at the end.

> 学生{がくせい}の頃{ころ} When (I) was a student.

Generally, 時{とき} refers to what you want, which you use for verbs. There's no
need for a の, just place 〜時{とき} after the verb. The issue comes with present
or past tense verbs, and when to use which. Your sentence, just to point out
at this point, is:

> 起{お}きた時{とき} When (I) woke up.

-- _Present vs Past Tense_ --

Use the past tense when you've already done an action. For instance, "Pay when
you get off the bus" in English is ambiguous in Japanese. Here, there are 2
options, each with a different meaning.

> バスを降{お}り **る** 時{とき}払{はら}ってください Pay when you get off the bus (ie, just
> before you walk out of the bus
>
> バスを降{お}り **た** 時{とき}払{はら}ってください Pay when you have gotten off the bus (ie,
> once you're off the bus)

In this sense, use the past tense, even when something's happening in the
future, but to show that something's already happened from the point of view
of you in that frame of reference in the future. Confusing. Take another
example:

> 日本へ行く時困りますか？

When you're talking about going to Japan, in your head, you're imagining
yourself at that time. This sentence talks more about that you'll have trouble
when you go to Japan, say at the airport. We can contrast this with
日本へ行った時困りますか？, which references that you'll have trouble after you've arrived
in Japan. Even though both of these things from the POV of _now_ are in the
future, you aren't seeing it that way in Japanese, you're seeing it from the
reference of you at that time.

Back to your sentence.

It makes no sense to say "when I woke up" as 起きる時 unless you're actually
talking about the time when you were still asleep but just about to wake up.
I'm pretty certain you didn't mean this. If you want to say "when i woke up
this morning my cat (who we'll name "Nyan") was setting on my bed", you just
put yourself into the shoes of your past self, who has already woken up, and
has seen Nyan on their bed.

> 今朝起きた時ニャンがベッドに座っていました。

