On the way
Collocations, Stage 3chunk 7 of 23Getting around
Updates from the journey: I'm at the station, the roads are jammed, a seat's come free, I rode past my stop.
- eki ni tsukuget to the station
- michi ga komuthe traffic is heavy
- seki ga akua seat frees up (aiteru = a seat is free)
- eki o norisugosumiss your stop
Mix-ups Crowded is konderu and a free seat is aiteru, while a whole empty train or road is suiteru, never isogashii or hima. Arriving takes ni (eki ni tsuku), but the stop you ride past takes o (eki o norisugosu).
eki ni tsuku
polite eki ni tsukimasuget to the station
駅に着く えきにつく 駅に着きます
verbtsuku 着くarrive; get to (a place)typical 4% of eki
trap eki ni touchaku suru is correct but stiff, the language of announcements and work emails; in conversation you arrive with tsuku, and 'I'm here' is the past tsuita.
Mostly a phone or text update: ima eki tsuita (I'm at the station now), eki tsuitara renraku suru (I'll text when I get there). The past tsuita is how you say 'I'm here'; casual speech drops ni.
eki tsuitara, kaisatsu no mae de matteru ne.
When I get to the station, I'll wait in front of the ticket gates.
駅着いたら、改札の前で待ってるね。
eki ni tsuitara, kaisatsu no mae de mattemasu ne.
When I get to the station, I'll wait in front of the ticket gates.
駅に着いたら、改札の前で待ってますね。
nanji ni tsuku? (what time do you get in?) and mou sugu tsuku (almost there) are the other everyday forms.
Same verb: ie (home), kuukou (airport), hoteru (hotel), kaisha (the office)Learn alongside: nimotsu ga todoku (Stage 4)Main list: tsuku (Stage 3)
michi ga komu
polite michi ga komimasuthe traffic is heavy
道が混む みちがこむ 道が混みます
verbkomu 混むget crowded; konderu = be crowded, packedtypical <1% of michi
trap Not michi ga isogashii: isogashii is for people and their time (isogashii hi, a busy day), never for a place full of people or cars. A busy road, train or shop is konderu ('has got packed').
Heard as konderu (busy now) or kondete (because it was busy), usually without ga: michi konderu kara okureru kamo. Plain komu is for patterns: kono jikan wa michi komu yo (the roads get busy at this hour). Same verb as mise ga komu and densha konderu. (sugoi konderu, with sugoi as an adverb, is casual; sugoku is the standard form.)
kyou, michi sugoi konderu ne.
The roads are really busy today.
今日、道すごい混んでるね。
kyou wa michi ga sugoku kondemasu ne.
The roads are really busy today.
今日は道がすごく混んでますね。
A full jam is juutai: juutai ni hamatta (I got stuck in traffic). Clear roads are suiteru: michi suiteta.
Same verb: densha (train), kousoku (expressway), eki (station)Learn alongside: mise ga komu, hito ga ooiMain list: isogashii (Stage 3)
seki ga aku
polite seki ga akimasua seat frees up (aiteru = a seat is free)
席が空く せきがあく 席が空きます
verbaku 空くbecome empty or vacant; open up (a space, a slot)typical 2% of seki
trap Not kono seki tada? (that asks if it costs nothing) or seki ga hima: hima is a person or a quiet shop with nothing going on, and a free seat is aiteru ('has come open'). For your own schedule both work: ashita aiteru? / ashita hima?
Almost always heard as aiteru: koko aitemasu ka? (is this seat free?) or seki aiteru (there's a free seat). aita is the moment one frees up: a, seki aita.
a, asoko seki aiteru yo.
Oh, there's a free seat over there.
あ、あそこ席空いてるよ。
sumimasen, kono seki aitemasu ka?
Excuse me, is this seat free?
すみません、この席空いてますか？
A whole train being empty or packed is densha ga suiteru / konderu, not aiteru.
Same verb: toire (toilet), heya (room), jikan (time)Main list: hima (Stage 3)
eki o norisugosu
polite eki o norisugoshimasumiss your stop
駅を乗り過ごす えきをのりすごす 駅を乗り過ごします
verbnorisugosu 乗り過ごすride past (noru 'ride' + sugosu 'let go by')
trap Not eki o nogasu or eki o misu shita: staying on past your stop is norisugosu (ride past), and nogasu is for a train that left without you. orisokoneta (didn't manage to get off) also works, say on a packed train.
Nearly always in the past, norisugoshita or norisugoshichatta, and usually without eki: nechatte norisugoshita (I fell asleep and missed my stop). How far you went is counted in stops: hitoeki norisugoshita. When the noun is said, it's oriru eki: oriru eki norisugoshita (I went past my stop).
nechatte, hitoeki norisugoshita.
I fell asleep and went one stop too far.
寝ちゃって、一駅乗り過ごした。
nete shimatte, hitoeki norisugoshimashita.
I fell asleep and went one stop too far.
寝てしまって、一駅乗り過ごしました。
Sleeping through the stop is also nesugoshita; oversleeping in the morning is nebou shita.
Same verb: oriru eki (your stop), basutei (bus stop)Learn alongside: densha ni noru, basu ni noru, kuruma ni noru, densha o oriru, jitensha ni noru, hikouki ni noru, kuruma ni noseruMain list: -chau (Stage 1)