when

CEFRA1

/ˈwɛn/

adverb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adverb

    At or during the time that something happens.

  2. 02

    adverb

    Extra detail

    At an earlier time and under different, usually less favorable, circumstances.

Examples

  • I loved history when I was at school.

  • I suppose it's different when you think about it over the long term.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈʍɛn/

Deep Dive

adverb

Extra meanings

  1. At what time? At which time? Upon which occasion or circumstance? Used to introduce direct or indirect questions about time.

  2. The time at, on or during which.

  3. At which, on which, during which: often omitted or replaced with that.

More examples

In context

  • I'll call them tomorrow when I come back.

  • Do you know when they arrived?

  • I don't know when they arrived.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

We set the alarm for 6 AM, but I don't remember blank I set it.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adverb

From Middle English when(ne), whan(ne), from Old English hwonne, from Proto-West Germanic *hwannē, from Proto-West Germanic *hwan, from Proto-Germanic *hwan (“at what time, when”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís (interrogative base). Cognate with Scots whan (“when”), Dutch wanneer (“when”), wan (“when”) and wen (“when, if”), Low German wannehr (“when”), wann (“when”) and wenn (“if, when”), German wann (“when”) and wenn (“when, if”), Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐌽 (ƕan, “when, how”), Latin quandō (“when”). More at who. Interjection sense: a playful misunderstanding of "say when" (i.e. say something / speak up when you want me to stop) as "say [the word] when".