So far, from now
Phrases that place a statement relative to now: up to now, from here on, as things stand, and for a while.
ima made
until now, so far
今まで いままで
Looks back over the time up to now, often with past tense or experience (ima made ichido mo nai), and in ima made nani shiteta no? (what have you been doing all this time?). kore made is a more formal synonym.
ima made wa daijoubu datta n da kedo.
It was fine until now, though.
今までは大丈夫だったんだけど。
ima made wa daijoubu datta n desu kedo.
It was fine until now, though.
今までは大丈夫だったんですけど。
ima made arigatou is the standard thanks when someone leaves or something ends.
Learn alongside: ima no tokoroLearn first: ima
kore kara
from now (on), about to
これから
Points forward from this moment, to something about to start (kore kara dekakeru) or to everything from here on. ima kara means the same for the immediate moment.
kore kara dou suru?
What do we do now?
これからどうする？
kore kara dou shimasu ka?
What shall we do now?
これからどうしますか？
kore kara mo yoroshiku ('I'm counting on you going forward') is a common closing line.
Learn first: kore
ima no tokoro
for now, so far
今のところ いまのところ
Hedges a status or plan as true for now but open to change (ima no tokoro yotei nai).
ima no tokoro daijoubu.
So far so good.
今のところ大丈夫。
ima no tokoro daijoubu desu.
So far so good.
今のところ大丈夫です。
toriaezu is 'for now' for a stopgap action, while ima no tokoro describes how things stand.
shibaraku
for a while
しばらく
Gives a vague stretch of time, short or long, without numbers (shibaraku matte, shibaraku aenai).
shibaraku isogashii n da.
I'll be busy for a while.
しばらく忙しいんだ。
shibaraku isogashii n desu.
I'll be busy for a while.
しばらく忙しいんです。
For 'long time no see', friends say hisashiburi and the polite form is ohisashiburi desu (お久しぶり, #1495). shibaraku desu is an older, formal version: recognise it, but don't produce it.