ついでに (JLPT N3)

About ついでに

序(ついで)に is an adverb in Japanese that is used in a similar way to 'while you're at it', or 'on the occasion of (A)' in English. 序(ついで) itself is a noun that means 'precedence' (in terms of being the first thing to happen). Due to this, the literal meaning of 序(ついで)に may be thought of as 'with (A) as the precedence, (B)'.

序(ついで)に is commonly used with verbs, or nouns. In the case of nouns, it will need to be preceded by the case marking particle の.

Fun Fact

Just like 'precedence' in English, 序(ついで)に implies that (A) is the instigator for (B). Because of this, 序(ついで)に is a good way to convey that something is not urgent, but, if (A) is happening, it is the perfect chance to do (B) as well.

Caution

序(ついで)に is more formal than 間(あいだ)に or 時(とき)に, so has more of a tendency to be used for 'one-off' things, rather than regular occurrences. Despite this, it still may be used to describe regular occurrences at times, especially when speaking formally or politely, such as to a senpai.

友達(ともだち)を家(うち)に送(おく)ったついでに、床屋(とこや)に行(い)った。

On the way back from driving my friend home, I went to the barber. (One-off occurrence)
旦那(だんな)はいつも、私(わたし)が寝(ね)てる間(あいだ)に帰(かえ)ってくる。

My husband always comes back while I am sleeping. (Regular occurrence)
私(わたし)は晴(は)れているときに出(で)かける。

I go out when it is sunny. (Regular occurrence)

Synonyms

Examples

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序(つい)でに君(きみ)の分(ぶん)も払(はら)ってあげるよ。

While I am at it, I will pay for your share too.

序(つい)でに君(きみ)の車(くるま)も洗(あら)ってあげようか？

While I am at it, do you want me to wash your car too?

ここまで来(き)たなら序(つい)でにうちにも寄(よ)ってよ。

On the occasion of coming this far, why don't you drop by my house?

話(はなし)の序(つい)でに言(い)っておきたいことがあります。

While I am on the subject, I want to tell you something.

給油(きゅうゆ)の序(つい)でに車(くるま)を点検(てんけん)してもらいました。

While I was refueling, I also had my car checked.

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ついでに – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (5 in total)

Fuga
Hey there! As @nekoyama has said, the main difference of うちに and ついでに is that うちに has the nuance of ‘the best time something should happen’ and ついでに has the nuance of ‘on the occasion’. The sentence 給油のついでに車を点検してもらいました has the nuance of ‘I had my car checked, because I was already out refueling my car.’

Another thing to remember is that when うちに is attached to a verb, it will be attached to the ている for of verbs. So, if you wanted to use うちに here, the sentence will be 給油しているうちに、車を点検してもらいました。‘I had my car inspected wile I was refueling my car (and it finished before I finished refueling).’
Munzu
Thank you @nekoyama and @Fuga for the detailed explanations!
Pablunpro
Hello,

While studying this grammar, I see that the header is ‘序でに’ while it is written as ‘序に’ in the rest of the text when it appears in its kanji form. As per Jisho, both forms are used.

While it appears that it is normally written in kana (ついでに), wouldn’t it be possible to adjust the header and the body of the text so that they both use a common kanji form and include the other version under the header as an orange note?

Thank you for your consideration. 良い一日を