Are you free?
Collocations, Stage 3chunk 3 of 23Time, money & plans
Setting a time: are you free, have you got plans, and whether a time suits.
- jikan ga akube free (have time)
- yotei ga aruhave plans
- tsugou ga iisuit someone, be convenient
- tsugou ga waruinot suit someone, can't make it (a time)
Mix-ups aiteru (got a gap) vs yotei aru (got plans) is the yes/no; tsugou ii / warui is the tactful pair for whether a time suits, not benri / fuben.
jikan ga aku
polite jikan ga akimasube free (have time)
時間が空く じかんがあく 時間が空きます
verbaku 空くbecome empty or free; open up (a seat, a room, a gap in time)typical <1% of jikan
trap Not jiyuu (free as in liberty) or tada (free of charge). A free slot is aku, 'open up': ashita aiteru?. ashita jikan aru? also works, and hima? is fine with friends but blunt to a senior.
Asking about or offering free time, nearly always as aiteru: ashita aiteru? / doyoubi nara aiteru yo. Plain aku means 'come free': jikan aitara renraku suru (I'll get in touch when I get a moment).
ashita jikan aiteru?
Are you free tomorrow?
明日時間空いてる？
ashita wa jikan aitemasu ka?
Are you free tomorrow?
明日は時間空いてますか？
aku also means a shop is open (mise ga aku); both come out as aiteru. Asking someone politely, people say ojikan: ojikan aitemasu ka?
Same verb: seki (a seat), heya (a room), sukejuuru (schedule)Learn alongside: shigoto ga isogashii, shigoto ga hairu, yotei ga aru, tsugou ga ii, tsugou ga warui, youji ga aru, yotei ga hairu, sen'yaku ga aruMain list: jikan (Stage 4), hima (Stage 3), isogashii (Stage 3), aru (Stage 1)
yotei ga aru
polite yotei ga arimasuhave plans
予定がある よていがある 予定があります
verbaru あるthere is; have (things, events)typical 28% of yotei
trap Not yotei o motteru: plans exist, so it's yotei ga aru. And 'got plans?' is yotei aru?, not keikaku aru?, which sounds like asking about a worked-out scheme (a project, a trip itinerary).
Asked before an invitation (shuumatsu yotei aru?) and given as the reason for saying no (sono hi wa chotto yotei aru n da). Casual speech drops ga, and yotei nai means 'I'm free'.
shuumatsu, nanka yotei aru?
Got any plans for the weekend?
週末、なんか予定ある？
shuumatsu wa nanika yotei ga arimasu ka?
Do you have any plans for the weekend?
週末は何か予定がありますか？
A booked plan is yotei haitteru, and the politer excuse is senyaku ga atte (a prior engagement). Drawing up a schedule (a trip, a study plan) is yotei o tateru, like keikaku o tateru; fixing a day with friends is hi o kimeru, and arranging to meet is yakusoku suru.
Same verb: youji (an errand), yakusoku (an arrangement with someone), baito (a part-time shift)Learn alongside: shigoto ga isogashii, shigoto ga hairu, jikan ga aku, tsugou ga ii, tsugou ga warui, youji ga aru, yotei ga hairu, sen'yaku ga aruMain list: aru (Stage 1), motsu (Stage 1), shuumatsu (Stage 2), hima (Stage 3), hairu (Stage 1), kimeru (Stage 3)
tsugou ga ii
polite tsugou ga ii desusuit someone, be convenient
都合がいい つごうがいい 都合がいいです
adjectiveii いいgood, fine, OKtypical 47% of tsugou
trap Not benri, which is for tools and places. A time that suits someone is tsugou ga ii, and 'can't make it' is tsugou ga warui.
The tactful way to set a time, itsu ga tsugou ii? (when suits you?), and to decline, sono hi wa chotto tsugou ga warukute (that day doesn't quite work). Casual speech drops ga. Among close friends, ashita daijoubu? is more usual.
ashita tsugou ii?
Does tomorrow work for you?
明日都合いい？
ashita wa tsugou ii desu ka?
Does tomorrow work for you?
明日は都合いいですか？
Asking someone above you: gotsugou ii desu ka? Declining politely: sono hi wa tsugou ga tsukanakute... (I can't make that day). tsugou ga tsuitara oshiete = let me know if you can make it. Said about a person, tsugou ii ne can be a dig: 'how convenient for you'.
Learn alongside: shigoto ga isogashii, shigoto ga hairu, jikan ga aku, yotei ga aru, tsugou ga warui, youji ga aru, yotei ga hairu, sen'yaku ga aruMain list: ii (Stage 1), warui (Stage 1), itsu (Stage 1), daijoubu (Stage 1)
tsugou ga warui
polite tsugou ga warui desunot suit someone, can't make it (a time)
都合が悪い つごうがわるい 都合が悪いです
adjectivewarui 悪いbad, not goodtypical 25% of tsugou
trap English 'inconvenient' leads to fuben, which is for places and tools (eki kara tookute fuben = it's a pain, being so far from the station). A time that doesn't suit you is tsugou ga warui.
For turning down a time: ashita tsugou warui (tomorrow's no good), or politely sumimasen, sono hi wa chotto tsugou ga warukute..., left trailing. Mostly for schedules; about a person it means 'doesn't suit them': jibun ni tsugou no warui koto wa kikanai (he won't listen to anything that doesn't suit him). With close friends, ashita chotto muri is also common.
ashita tsugou warui kara, asatte wa?
Tomorrow's no good for me. How about the day after?
明日都合悪いから、あさっては？
ashita wa chotto tsugou ga warui node, asatte wa dou desu ka?
Tomorrow doesn't really work for me. How about the day after?
明日はちょっと都合が悪いので、あさってはどうですか？
Often cut short to chotto tsugou ga..., with warui left unsaid.
Same adjective: taimingu (taimingu warui = bad timing, an unlucky moment; not a way to decline)Learn alongside: shigoto ga isogashii, shigoto ga hairu, jikan ga aku, yotei ga aru, tsugou ga ii, youji ga aru, yotei ga hairu, sen'yaku ga aruMain list: warui (Stage 1), ii (Stage 1), muri (Stage 3), chotto... (Stage 3)