Not right now
Idioms, Stage 3chunk 2 of 22Effort, ease & difficulty
Whether you are free at this moment: tied up, hands full, no time for that, or finally free.
- te ga hanasenaibe tied up, can't step away nowliterally “can't take my hands off”
- te ippaihave your hands full, at full capacityliterally “hands full”
- sore dokoro ja naino time for that; far from itliterally “it's not that place (not the point for that)”
- te ga akube free (not tied up), have a spare momentliterally “one's hands become empty”
Mix-ups te ga hanasenai (can't step away) and te ga aku (be free) use the same te ga frame with opposite meanings; te ippai is about overall capacity, not this one moment.
te ga hanasenai
polite te ga hanasemasen
“can't take my hands off”
be tied up, can't step away now
In English: be tied up
The stock excuse when someone calls or asks for help mid-task: ima te ga hanasenai kara ato de ne. It is about this moment only; for being swamped in general say te ippai, and once you're free again, te ga aku.
In speech the ga often drops: ima te hanasenai.
gomen, ima te ga hanasenai
Sorry, I'm tied up right now.
ごめん、今手が離せない
sumimasen, ima chotto te ga hanasenakute
Sorry, I'm a bit tied up right now.
すみません、今ちょっと手が離せなくて
Written 手が離せない · てがはなせないHeard 66× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside te ippai, te ga aku, karada ga motanai (Stage 4), te ga mawaranai (Stage 4), me ga mawaru (Stage 4), neko no te mo karitai (Stage 4)Main list -eru / -rareru (Stage 2), -nai (Stage 1)
te ippai
polite te ippai desu
“hands full”
have your hands full, at full capacity
In English: have your hands full
Turning down more work or responsibility, usually as X de te ippai: jibun no shigoto de te ippai. Unlike te ga hanasenai (busy this minute), it means your plate is full in general.
Slangier: ippai ippai (at my absolute limit).
gomen, ima jibun no shigoto de te ippai nan da
Sorry, I've got my hands full with my own work right now.
ごめん、今自分の仕事で手一杯なんだ
sumimasen, ima jibun no shigoto de te ippai nan desu
Sorry, I've got my hands full with my own work right now.
すみません、今自分の仕事で手一杯なんです
Written 手一杯 · ていっぱいHeard 62× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside te ga hanasenai, te ga aku, karada ga motanai (Stage 4), te ga mawaranai (Stage 4), me ga mawaru (Stage 4), neko no te mo karitai (Stage 4)Main list ippai (Stage 3)
sore dokoro ja nai
polite sore dokoro ja arimasen
“it's not that place (not the point for that)”
no time for that; far from it
The brush-off when you're swamped or something more urgent is going on: ima sore dokoro ja nai! It also corrects someone, 'far from it' (tanoshikatta? sore dokoro ja nai yo, saiaku datta).
Formal: sore dokoro de wa nai.
gomen, ima sore dokoro ja nai n da
Sorry, I've got no time for that right now.
ごめん、今それどころじゃないんだ
sumimasen, ima sore dokoro ja nai n desu
Sorry, I've got no time for that right now.
すみません、今それどころじゃないんです
Written それどころじゃないHeard 45× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesMain list sore (Stage 1), -kunai / -ja nai (Stage 1)
te ga aku
polite te ga akimasu
“one's hands become empty”
be free (not tied up), have a spare moment
Asking or saying whether someone is free to help right now: te aiteru? (got a sec?), te ga aitara onegai (when you're free). At work the stock promise is te ga aki shidai (as soon as I'm free): te ga aki shidai orikaeshimasu (I'll call you back as soon as I'm free). The opposite of te ga hanasenai; it is a free moment at work or home, not a free day.
Plain alternative: ima chotto ii? (got a sec?); hima? is free time in general and can sound like they're idle. To a boss or client: otesuki no toki ni (when you have a moment).
te ga aitara chotto tetsudatte
When you've got a free moment, give me a hand.
手が空いたらちょっと手伝って
te ga aitara chotto tetsudatte moraemasu ka
When you've got a free moment, could you give me a hand?
手が空いたらちょっと手伝ってもらえますか
Written 手が空く · てがあくHeard 15× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside te ga hanasenai, te ippai, karada ga motanai (Stage 4), te ga mawaranai (Stage 4), me ga mawaru (Stage 4), neko no te mo karitai (Stage 4)Main list -tara (Stage 2), tetsudau (Stage 2), chotto (Stage 1), -te (Stage 2), -te moraeru? (Stage 2), -teru (Stage 1)