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You are here: Home / CM Tooltip Glossary / あっという間

あっという間

October 23, 2022

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Yomi

あっというま

Rōmaji

atto iu ma

Type

idiom

Literal Meaning

While saying あ

Meaning

the blink of an eye; a very short time; time flies

Synonym

すぐ

Additional Info

This idiom is so common that many Japanese people use it without paying attention to its literal meaning (like “of course” in English). It is often used as あっという間に… (“in the blink of an eye”) or あっという間だった (“it was the blink of an eye”)

Example

あっという間に雨が止んだ。
It stopped raining in the blink of an eye.

高校生活は楽しくてあっという間だった
My high-school life was so much fun and time flew like an arrow.

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