いつの間まにか、俺おれたちは警察けいさつに包囲ほういされていた。
Before we knew it, we were surrounded by the cops.

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Read the explanation below to understand the nuance of how this grammar structure is used.

This is about time, or a situation, slipping by you. You were busy, you were focused, you were hustlin’, and when you finally looked up, everything was different.

Metaphor: This is like waking up from a daze. You’re so focused on the hustle, on making the beat, on the fight, that you don’t notice the world changing around you. When you “wake up,” you’re like, “Damn, when did this happen?”

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Read the table below then use it to conjugate some words you know.

Another adverb. No changes, just drop it in.

Formula	Example	Translation
いつの間にか + (Sentence)	いつの間まにか 朝あさだった	Before I knew it, it was morning.
いつの間にか + (State)	いつの間まにか 囲かこまれていた	Before I knew it, we were surrounded.

You use いつの間にか to start a thought, describing a state you just realized.

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Read the examples to figure out how the grammar works.

This is for when the game changes without you noticing.

1. あいつ、いつの間まにか俺おれたちのシマで商売しょうばいしてやがった。 Before I realized it, that bastard was doing business on our turf.
2. ただの使つかい走はしりだったのに、いつの間まにかあいつは幹部かんぶになっていた。
   He was just an errand boy, but before I knew it, he’d become an executive.
3. 尋問じんもんしていたら、いつの間まにか奴やつは息いき絶たえていた。
   We were interrogating him, and before I knew it, he had stopped breathing.
4. 一いち晩ばん中ちゅうビートを作つくっていたら、いつの間まにか朝あさになっていた。
   I was making beats all night, and before I knew it, it was morning.
5. 奴やつを監視かんししていたはずが、いつの間まにか見失みうしなっていた。
   I was supposed to be tailing him, but before I knew it, I’d lost him.
6. この街まちのルールは、いつの間まにか俺おれたちが決きめるようになっていた。
   Without anyone realizing, we had become the ones who decide the rules in this town.
7. 重おもりを上あげ続つづけていたら、いつの間まにか誰だれも俺おれに逆さからわなくなっていた。
   I kept lifting weights, and before I knew it, no one defied me anymore.
8. 仲間なかまだと思おもっていたら、いつの間まにか裏切うらぎられていた。
   I thought he was family, but before I knew it, I had been betrayed.
9. 人質ひとじちを見張みはっていたが、いつの間まにか眠ねむってしまった。
   I was watching the hostage, but I fell asleep before I knew it.
10. ちょっとした口論こうろんが、いつの間まにか大だい乱闘らんとうになっていた。
    A small argument, before I knew it, had turned into a massive brawl.

Stay Dangerous