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JLPT N4Time Expressions

たところ— Just finished (this very moment)

Expresses that an action has just reached completion at the exact moment of speaking — like a snapshot of the finish line. It must be objectively, literally just now.

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Pro lessonUNIT 65 · TIME EXPRESSIONS

Structure · 形

[Verb た-form] + ところ

Examples · 例文

  • 今、家に着いたところです。

    Ima, ie ni tsuita tokoro desu.

    I've literally just arrived home.

    zero-delay, right now

  • ちょうど食べ終わったところだ。

    Choudo tabeowatta tokoro da.

    I've just this second finished eating.

    pairs naturally with ちょうど (exactly/just)

  • 連絡しようとしたところに、電話が来た。

    Renraku shiyou to shita tokoro ni, denwa ga kita.

    A call came right as I was about to contact them.

    〜ところに = at that precise point in time

Usage notes · 注意

  • The ところ spectrum: するところ (about to do) → ているところ (in the middle of doing) → たところ (just finished).
  • No psychology: unlike たばかり, たところ can't be used for things that happened a while ago even if they feel new — it must be objectively immediate.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones たところ is tested against.

vsたばかり

たばかり is subjective recency (can be days/months ago if it still feels new). たところ is objective: the action finished at this literal moment.

vsているところ

ているところ = in the middle of the action right now. たところ = the action has just been completed right now.

More time expressions

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