何の言葉06 間に合う(ma ni au)

Hi readers!

We want to ask you if you’re the type of person who is always on time — or late? (No judgement!)

Being on time (or not on time), can be a cultural thing. It’s less socially acceptable to be late in Japan than Malaysia. For example, in Malaysia, we like to use the phrase “Malaysian timing” which means “something or someone is late”. We always like to blame it on traffic, but most of the time we are just leaving our house at that moment. 😆

In Japan however, it’s really important to be on time to work or an event. For example, if the train is running late and you are late to work, the train staff will issue a “Train Delay Certificate” 電車遅延証明書 (densha chien shoumei sho) to show your boss the proof that you were late because of the unavoidable train delay. 🚆

So how would you say “I’ll make it in time!” in Japanese?

Meaning of 間に合う :

Here’s a breakdown of 間に合う (ma ni au)

間 (ma)＝time, period
に (ni) = direction particle
合う (au)＝ to come together

So, this means “to meet with a specific time”

　1. to make it in time for ~

For example,

• 電車に間に合う。

  to make it in time for the train

• 会議に間に合う。

  to be on time for the meeting

　2. to be enough for ~ *

For example,

• 5,000円で間に合う。
  5,000 yen is enough.

• 今ある服で間に合う。
  The clothes I have now are enough.

Instead of 間に合う, we would say 足りる (tariru) or 十分 (juubun) which both means “enough”.

💡 Note: If you search the dictionary about 間に合う, it will show 2 meanings, but this 2nd meaning is a little outdated and not so commonly used anymore.

English phrases with similar meaning to 間に合う:

“to be on time”

 💡ぎりぎりセーフ！

ぎりぎりセーフ (giri giri seefu) is a very casual phrase that you can use when you were about to be late but somehow made it.

ぎりぎり means “just barely” or “near the edge” of something.

セーフ（safe）means “to just barely made it” for things that you might fail, but somehow you made it.

You can use ぎりぎりセーフ as separate words or together as a phrase.

For example,

• テストの点数がぎりぎりセーフだったね。

  I just barely passed the test.

• ふう、ぎりぎり間に合った～！セーフ！

  Phew, I just barely made it in time! Safe!

*ぎりぎりセーフ can also be used in other situations which we will discuss in future newsletters.

１．寝坊して、電車に間に合わなかった！
　I overslept so I couldn’t make it in time for the train!

２．今から出発しても間に合うかな？
　Even if we leave now, can we make it in time?

３．タクシーに乗ったから間に合った。
　We took the taxi, so we made it in time.

４．このレポート、絶対に明日の期限までに間に合わせなきゃ！
　I must finish this report in time for tomorrow’s deadline.

Are you someone who’s always 間に合う, ぎりぎりセーフ or always late?

Let us know!

Sincerely,
Amasugi Letter