JLPT N3: たび（に）《every time》

I have a nice, short, useful lesson in store for you.

たび (に) is used to express that when one thing happens, another thing invariably happens simultaneously.

Specifically:

A たびに B.
= Every time A, B.

An example:

私はワインを飲むたびに二日酔いになる。
わたし　は　ワイン　を　のむ　たびに　ふつかよい　に　なる。
Every time I drink wine, I get a hangover.
Literally: “I + は + wine + を + drink + every time + hangover + に + become.”

たび（に）is used in both spoken and written Japanese, which makes it a truly useful grammar point to master. If you're using Japanese, you will have chances to use たび (に).

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More great news:

Forming sentences with たび（に）is easy.

V る ＋ たび（に）
NOUN ＋ の ＋ たび（に）

We already saw one example with a verb coming before たび (に), so here's an example with "NOUN + の" coming before it:

夫は喧嘩のたびに「離婚しよう」と言う。
おっと　は　けんか　の　たびに　「りこん　しよう」　と　いう。
Every time my husband and I get in a fight, he says “Let’s get a divorce.”
Literally: “husband + は + fight + の + every time + ‘divorce + let’s do’ + と + says.”

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There is a kanji for たび (に), by the way, which is 度 (に).

Kanji masters will notice that this character shows up in a lot of words with the (onyomi) reading ど, meaning something like "degrees" or "times."

度

We've seen it in words like these:

今度（こんど // this time; next time; another time）
温度（おんど // temperature）
～度（～ど // degrees）

...in sentences like these:

今度こそは絶対勝つ。
こんど　こそ　は　ぜったい　かつ。
This time I will win for sure.
Literally: “This time + こそ + は + for sure + win”

今度一緒に映画でも行かない？
こんど　いっしょ　に　えいが　でも　いかない？
Do you wanna go to a movie or something with me sometime?
Literally: “this time / another time + together + movie + or something (=でも) + won't go?”

シャワーに適切な温度は40度くらいです。
シャワー　に　てきせつ　な　おんど　は　よんじゅう　ど　くらい　です。
About 40 degrees is a suitable temperature for a shower.
Literally: “shower + に + suitable / appropriate + temperature + は + 40 degrees + about + です.”

Anyway, yeah, the kanji version of たび (に) is 度 (に). People do use the kanji version from time to time, so you'll probably see it eventually:

彼は引っ越しの度に家具を買い替えています。
かれ　は　ひっこし　の　たびに　かぐ　を　かいかえています。
He buys all new furniture every time he moves.
Literally: “he + は + moving (house) + の + every time + furniture + を + is replacing by buying something new.”

Oh, and as you can see in the above example, we don't always have to translate our sentences as "Every time A, B." Here we're translating it as "B every time A" ...which means the same thing.

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Last one and done:

ここに来るたび、昔の彼女を思い出す。
ここ　に　くる　たび、　むかし　の　かのじょ　を　おもいだす。
Every time I come here, I’m reminded of my ex-girlfriend (from a long time ago).
Literally: “here + に + come + every time, + former / long ago + の + girlfriend + を + recall.”

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Congratulations! Every time you read a lesson, you get a bit better at Japanese.