〜かと思ったら・思うと

About

The ～かと思おもったら pattern attaches to an action, and is used to express that something else happens right away, or very soon after.

Usually, the second action is a change of some kind, and it is often something that the speaker finds unexpected or surprising.

～かと思おもったら statements are from the viewpoint of the speaker, but always from an observational perspective. This means that the second half of the sentence can't feature the speaker's own actions (or requests).

～かと思おもうと and ～かと思おもえば may be used in place of ～かと思おもったら, and the initial か may always be omitted.

E.g. 赤あかちゃんがやっと寝ねたと思おもったら、すぐに泣なき出だした。 "Just when I thought the baby had finally gone to sleep, it started crying again right away."

E.g. バスが動うごき出だしたと思おもったら、またすぐに止とまってしまった。 "Just when the bus had finally started it moving, it suddenly stopped again."

E.g. マイクは、トイレから戻もどってきたと思おもうとまたトイレに向むかかった。 "Just when Mike got back from the bathroom, he headed for it again."

Summary

• 

  The ～かと思おもったら pattern attaches to an action, and is used to express that something else happens right away, or very soon after

• 

  Usually, the second action is a change of some kind, and it is often something that the speaker finds unexpected or surprising