when

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

US /ˈwɛn/ UK /ˈwɛn/ See IPA manual

Homophones

wen /wɛn/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like wane /ɛ/ vs /eɪ/ Sounds like Venn /v/ vs /w/

Freq #72

Meanings

1

adv
At what time.

When will the train arrive?
2

conj
At or during the time that.

I was reading when the phone rang.
3

conj
Every time that; whenever.

The dogs bark when they hear the doorbell.
4

adv
At, on, or during which.

That was the year when we moved to London.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 conj · at or during the time that. while

3 conj · every time that; whenever. whenever

More because whilst

Appears in

Idioms (6)

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Tongue twisters (1)

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Windmills and the Millwheel
To the windmills said the millwheel: “As the wind wills do you still wheel?” “Yes, we still wheel when the wind wills!” To the millwheel said the windmills.

Wind here means moving air and rhymes with pinned. Contrast the vowel in will with the longer vowel in wheel, keeping the final /l/ in both.

Etymology

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…

*kʷ- Proto-Indo-European when Middle English hwonne Old English *hwannē Proto-West Germanic *hwan Proto-Germanic *kʷís Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Grammar & Function Words

External links

# when

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adv, conj
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɛn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwɛn/
**Frequency rank:** 72

## Meanings
1. At what time.
2. At or during the time that.
3. Every time that; whenever.
4. At, on, or during which.

## Examples
- When will the train arrive?
- I was reading when the phone rang.
- The dogs bark when they hear the doorbell.
- That was the year when we moved to London.

## Synonyms
- because
- while
- whilst

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷ-
- Root: when
- Root: hwonne
- Root: *hwannē
- Root: *hwan
- Root: *kʷís

## Etymology
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…

## AI Etymology
When is 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. Important historical forms include Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-, Middle English when, Old English hwonne, Proto-West Germanic *hwannē, Proto-West Germanic *hwan, Proto-Germanic *hwan, and Proto-Indo-European *kʷís.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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