Japanese Grammar: Sakki (さっき) – A Little While Ago

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Japanese Grammar: Sakki (さっき) – A Little While Ago
Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

A little while ago; just now.

🎯 Primary Function

An adverb of time used to indicate a point in the immediate past, typically ranging from a few minutes to a few hours ago.

📋 Grammar Structure

さっき + [Verb (Past or Continuous form)]
さっき + [I-Adjective] (Past or Present)
さっき + [Na-Adjective] (Past or Present)
さっき + [Verb (Negative form)]

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Usually avoided in highly formal writing or speech; ‘sakihodo’ is used instead.

😊 Informal Situations

Extremely common in daily conversation with friends, family, and colleagues.

✍️ Written Language

Used in informal writing like emails, texts, and blogs. Not common in formal academic papers.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Frequent in casual dialogue to refer back to recent topics or events.

💡 Common Applications

Describing recent events
Used to talk about actions that happened very recently within the same day.
Example: さっき食べました。 (I ate a little while ago.)
Identifying people/things from the immediate past
Using ‘no’ (の) to link sakki to a noun to specify which object or person is being discussed.
Example: さっきの電話。 (The phone call from just now.)
Indicating duration from a recent point
Using ‘kara’ (から) to show that an action started recently and is still continuing.
Example: さっきから待っています。 (I’ve been waiting since a little while ago.)
📊
Frequency
Very High
🎚️
Difficulty
N4 / N5
Tag:

Related Kanji

JLPT N4 Kanji List

Related Vocabulary

JLPT N4 Vocabulary List
Example Sentences
Example #1
さっき、お茶を飲みました。
Furigana: さっき、おちゃをのみました。
Romaji: Sakki, ocha o nomimashita.
English: I drank tea a little while ago.
Example #2
さっきの人は誰ですか。
Furigana: さっきのひとはだれですか。
Romaji: Sakki no hito wa dare desu ka.
English: Who was that person just now?
Example #3
さっきからずっと待っています。
Furigana: さっきからずっとまっています。
Romaji: Sakki kara zutto matte imasu.
English: I have been waiting since a little while ago.
Example #4
さっき言ったことを忘れないでください。
Furigana: さっきいったことをわすれないでください。
Romaji: Sakki itta koto o wasurenaide kudasai.
English: Please don’t forget what I just said.
Example #5
さっきまで雨が降っていました。
Furigana: さっきまであめがふっていました。
Romaji: Sakki made ame ga futte imashita.
English: It was raining until just a moment ago.
Example #6
さっき、田中さんが来ましたよ。
Furigana: さっき、たなかさんがきましたよ。
Romaji: Sakki, Tanaka-san ga kimashita yo.
English: Mr. Tanaka came by a little while ago.
Example #7
さっきのニュース、見ましたか。
Furigana: さっきのニュース、みましたか。
Romaji: Sakki no nyūsu, mimashita ka.
English: Did you see the news just now?
Example #8
さっき買ったパンを食べましょう。
Furigana: さっきかったパンをたべましょう。
Romaji: Sakki katta pan o tabemashō.
English: Let’s eat the bread I bought a little while ago.
Example #9
さっき、母からメールが届きました。
Furigana: さっき、ははからメールがとどきました。
Romaji: Sakki, haha kara mēru ga todokimashita.
English: I received an email from my mother a moment ago.
Example #10
さっき見た映画はとても面白かったです。
Furigana: さっきみたえいがはとてもおもしろかったです。
Romaji: Sakki mita eiga wa totemo omoshirokattasu.
English: The movie I saw a little while ago was very interesting.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Usage with the ‘No’ particle
‘Sakki’ is often used with the particle ‘no’ to turn it into an adjective-like modifier for nouns.
Example: さっきのビデオ (The video from just now)
Continuous duration with ‘Kara’
When paired with ‘kara’ and a continuous verb form, it emphasizes that a state has persisted since that recent point.
Example: さっきからお腹が痛いです。 (My stomach has been hurting for a while now.)

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ Using ‘sakki’ to mean ‘yesterday’ or ‘a few days ago’.
✅ 昨日 (Kinō) or 先日 (Senjitsu)
‘Sakki’ is only for the very recent past (minutes or hours ago today). For previous days, use ‘yesterday’ or ‘the other day’.
❌ Using ‘sakki’ in a formal business speech.
✅ 先ほど (Sakihodo)
In a business meeting with a client, ‘sakki’ sounds too casual. Use the honorific version ‘sakihodo’.

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: Casual to Standard. It is not rude but not considered ‘Keigo’ (formal).
Social Situations: Used naturally in any everyday social situation to refer to the immediate past context.
Regional Variations: Standard Japanese uses ‘sakki’, though some dialects like Kansai might use ‘sakkina’ or similar variations.

🔍 Subtle Differences

Sakki vs. Sakihodo
‘Sakki’ is casual/standard; ‘Sakihodo’ is formal/honorific.
When to use: Use ‘Sakihodo’ in business or when speaking to superiors.
Sakki vs. Ima (Now)
‘Sakki’ is definitely in the past; ‘Ima’ is the current moment.
When to use: Use ‘Sakki’ if the event is already finished.
Sakki vs. Kono aida
‘Sakki’ is today; ‘Kono aida’ is a few days ago.
When to use: Use ‘Kono aida’ for events that happened earlier in the week or month.

📝 Conjugation Notes

‘Sakki’ is an adverb and does not conjugate. It is often followed by particles like ‘no’ (to modify nouns), ‘kara’ (since), or ‘made’ (until).

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

Pay attention to the double ‘k’ sound (sokuon). There should be a slight glottal stop/pause before the ‘ki’ sound: sa-(pause)-ki.

🧠 Memory Tips

Think of ‘Saki’ (先), which means ‘ahead’ or ‘previous.’ Adding the small ‘tsu’ makes it ‘Sakki’, emphasizing the immediate ‘previous’ moment.

Other Grammar

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