帰りがけに、裏切り者の家に嫌がらせでヤギを放してきた。 On my way back, I released a wild goat into the traitor’s house just to mess with him.
Read the explanation below to understand the nuance of how this grammar structure is used.
In the streets, you don’t always have time to sit around and plan every single move. Sometimes you gotta handle business on your way to doing something else. That’s exactly what 〜がけに is all about.
This grammar point translates to “on one’s way to,” “while in the process of leaving/going to,” or “just as I was about to [do action X].”
The Nuance: The Quick Drive-By Action
This ain’t just your regular nagara (doing two things at once, like chewing gum and walking). 〜がけに means you are already in motion, headed somewhere, and right at the moment you are leaving or passing by, you do a quick, secondary action. It’s almost always used with verbs of movement—specifically 行く (to go), 来る (to come), 帰る (to return), or 出る (to leave).
The key nuance here is convenience or suddenness. You’re already on the move, so you quickly slip this other action in.
The Hood Metaphor
Doughboy and his crew riding through the streets about to handle some serious business. They are already in the physical motion of riding. Just as they pass by the local corner store, Doughboy spots the ice cream shop, pulls over real quick, snatches a bomb pop, and rolls right back out.
They didn’t plan a whole separate trip just to go buy ice cream. They did it on their way to their destination.
Check the blueprint below to see how we fuse this grammar together before you step out the door.
| Conjugation Rule | Example | English Translation |
| Verb (stem) + がけに | 帰り掛けに | On my way back/home… |
| Verb (stem) + がけに | 出掛けに | Just as I was leaving/on my way out… |
| Verb (stem) + がけに | 行き掛けに | On my way there… |
To hook this up, you take the Masu-stem of a movement verb and slap がけに right onto it. You’ll mostly see this with 行く (becomes 行きがけに), 帰る (becomes 帰りがけに), and 出る (becomes 出がけに / 出かけに). Sometimes people drop the に and just say 〜がけ, but keeping the に makes it official. Just remember: this is strictly for when you are on the transition of going somewhere or leaving a spot. Don’t try to use it with verbs that don’t involve moving your ass from point A to point B.
Read and master the example sentences below.
帰りがけに、ボスの車に仕掛けられた爆弾を解除しておいた。
On my way back, I quickly defused the bomb rigged to the boss’s whip.
出がけに、母親から「銃は持ったの？」と聞かれてキレそうになった。
Just as I was heading out, my mom asked, “Did you pack your gun?” and I almost lost my shit.
通りがけに、ライバルグループのヤバい取引を目撃しちまった。
As I was passing by, I accidentally witnessed the rival gang’s shady-ass drug deal.
出がけに、防弾チョッキのサイズが合わなくてめちゃくちゃ焦った。
Just as I was heading out, my bulletproof vest didn’t fit and I panicked like a motherfucker.
帰りがけに、路地裏で別の組のチンピラに絡まれた。
On my way back, some low-level punks from another syndicate tried to press me in the alley.
通りがけに、パトカーに中指を立ててやった。
As I was passing by, I flipped the bird at the damn police cruiser.
帰りがけに、質屋に強盗に入ってロレックスを奪ってきた。
On my way back, I casually hit a pawn shop and snatched some Rolexes.
行きがけに、FBIの盗聴器が仕掛けられていないか車内を調べた。
On my way there, I swept my whip to make sure the FBI didn’t bug my shit.
立ち去りがけに、ボスのデスクから最高級の葉巻を一本くすねた。
On my way out, I snatched a top-shelf cigar right off the boss’s desk.
通りがけに、敵の縄張りにある自動販売機の小銭を全部抜いておいた。
As I was passing through, I cleaned out all the spare change from the vending machines on rival turf.
Stay dangerous.
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