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JLPT N3Time Expressions

～ところに／～ところへ— Right At That Moment

Marks the precise moment when one situation is happening and another event intrudes upon it. It means 'just when ~' or 'right as ~ (something else happened)'. The second event is typically an interruption, arrival, or intervention. へ leans slightly more toward physical arrival, に toward timing.

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Pro lessonUNIT 53 · TIME EXPRESSIONS

Structure · 形

[Verb (て-いる / た / dictionary) / い-adj / Noの] + ところに／ところへ

Examples · 例文

  • 出かけようとしたところに、電話がかかってきた。

    Dekakeyou to shita tokoro ni, denwa ga kakatte kita.

    Just as I was about to leave, the phone rang.

    ところに marks the exact moment of leaving when the phone interrupted.

  • 困っているところへ、友達が助けに来てくれた。

    Komatte iru tokoro e, tomodachi ga tasuke ni kite kureta.

    Right when I was in trouble, a friend came to help.

    ところへ emphasizes the friend's arrival at that critical moment.

  • 寝ているところに、誰かがドアをノックした。

    Nete iru tokoro ni, dareka ga doa o nokku shita.

    Just as I was sleeping, someone knocked on the door.

    ところに sets the ongoing state that the knock interrupts.

Usage notes · 注意

  • The intruding event is usually sudden and often involves a person arriving or contacting you.
  • Verb tense before ところ shows timing: ている (during), た (just after), dictionary/よう (just before).
  • へ subtly stresses movement/arrival; に stresses the point in time.

Commonly confused with

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

vs～ときに

ときに just states 'when', while ところに stresses a critical, ongoing moment suddenly interrupted by another event.

vs～ところを

ところを marks the situation as the direct object of the interrupting action (e.g. being caught doing something), while ところに marks it as the time/point of arrival.

More time expressions

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