～たび(に) — Every Single Time
Expresses that whenever one action or event occurs, another consistently follows. It links two events so that the second reliably happens each time the first does. Unlike a simple 'when', たびに emphasizes the repeated, habitual co-occurrence of the two situations.
Structure
[Verb dictionary form / Noun + の] + たび(に)
Examples
彼女は会うたびに新しい服を着ている。
Kanojo wa au tabi ni atarashii fuku wo kite iru.
Every time I meet her, she is wearing new clothes.
Verb dictionary form 会う + たびに shows the second event recurs at each meeting.
この写真を見るたびに、学生時代を思い出す。
Kono shashin wo miru tabi ni, gakusei jidai wo omoidasu.
Every time I look at this photo, I recall my school days.
見る + たびに links viewing the photo with reliably remembering.
試験のたびに緊張してしまう。
Shiken no tabi ni kinchou shite shimau.
I get nervous every time there's an exam.
Noun 試験 + の + たびに; a noun requires the の connector.
• Register: neutral; usable in both speech and writing. • Connection: a noun must take の before たびに (試験のたびに), while a verb takes the dictionary form. • Nuance: stresses that the two events consistently pair up, not just a one-off timing.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ～たび(に) is tested against.
vs と (conditional)
～と states a general automatic result, while たびに emphasizes the repeated habitual pairing across many separate occasions.
vs ごとに
ごとに attaches to countable intervals (三日ごとに) meaning 'at every interval', whereas たびに focuses on 'each time an event happens'.
More time expressions
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