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Learn Hardcore Japanese: heizitu ni site ha, siyakusyo ga konde iru. - It is crowded for a weekday.

Hardcore Japanese
/Registering a change of address at city hall
/heijitsu ni shite wa, shiyakusho ga konde iru.

heijitsu ni shite wa, shiyakusho ga konde iru.

Word

平日へいじつ　に　して　は、　市役所しやくしょ　が　混こんで　いる。heijitsu ni shite wa, shiyakusho ga konde iru.

Meaning

It is crowded for a weekday.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Japanese

Lesson

Registering a change of address at city hall

Breakdown of heijitsu ni shite wa, shiyakusho ga konde iru.

subject particle

〜て　いる〜te iru

progressive form

平日へいじつheijitsu

Questions & Answers about heijitsu ni shite wa, shiyakusho ga konde iru.

What does にしては mean in this sentence?

にしては means something like for, considering, or given that, and it often carries a nuance of unexpectedness.

So:

平日にしては、市役所が混んでいる。
= For a weekday, city hall is crowded.
= Considering it’s a weekday, city hall is surprisingly crowded.

The speaker is saying that the situation is a little unusual compared with what they would normally expect on a weekday.

Why is it 平日にしては and not just 平日は?

Because にしては is a set grammar pattern.

平日は、市役所が混んでいる。
= As for weekdays, city hall is crowded.
This sounds like a general statement about weekdays.
平日にしては、市役所が混んでいる。
= For a weekday, city hall is crowded.
This means it is more crowded than you would expect for a weekday.

So にしては adds the idea of comparison with a normal expectation.

What exactly is the role of に in 平日にしては?

Nihon-shiki romanizationwatasi ha tyuugoku kara kimasita

Hepburn romanizationwatashi wa chuugoku kara kimashita

市役所しやくしょshiyakusho

に　して　はni shite wa

considering; for

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In this pattern, にしては works together as one grammar expression, so it is best to learn it as a chunk.

You do not usually need to analyze the に by itself when learning this structure. The important point is:

Noun + にしては
meaning: for, considering, given

Here, 平日 is a noun, so it becomes:

平日 + にしては

This is very common with nouns:

子どもにしては大人っぽい。
= For a child, they seem mature.
初心者にしては上手だ。
= For a beginner, they’re good.

Does にしては always express surprise?

Usually, yes—or at least mild unexpectedness.

It often means:

given X, I would expect Y
but the actual situation is different from that expectation

So in this sentence, the speaker probably expects city hall to be less crowded on a weekday, but in reality it is crowded.

It does not have to mean strong shock. It can just mean:

more than expected
less than expected
different from what is normal

Why is 市役所 marked with が?

Because 市役所 is the thing being described as crowded.

市役所が混んでいる
= City hall is crowded

Here, 混んでいる is describing the condition of 市役所, so が marks it as the grammatical subject.

If you changed it to は, it would sound more like a topic:

市役所は混んでいる。
= As for city hall, it’s crowded.

That is possible in some contexts, but が sounds natural here because the sentence is mainly presenting the current situation.

What does 混んでいる mean exactly? Is it progressive?

混む means to be crowded.

Its -ている form, 混んでいる, usually describes a current state, not an action in progress in the English sense.

So:

市役所が混んでいる
means City hall is crowded

It does not usually mean something like City hall is becoming crowded right now.

This is a common pattern in Japanese. Some -ている forms describe a resulting state:

結婚している = is married
知っている = knows
混んでいる = is crowded

Why is there a comma after は?

The comma shows a pause after the opening phrase:

平日にしては、…

This is very common when a sentence begins with a phrase that sets the context. It helps separate:

the standard of comparison: 平日にしては
the main statement: 市役所が混んでいる

The comma is helpful, but not absolutely required every time:

平日にしては市役所が混んでいる。

That would still be understandable.

How is this different from 平日なのに、市役所が混んでいる?

They are similar, but the nuance is a little different.

平日にしては、市役所が混んでいる。
= For a weekday, city hall is crowded.
This compares the situation to the normal standard for weekdays.
平日なのに、市役所が混んでいる。
= Even though it’s a weekday, city hall is crowded.
This sounds more directly like that’s contrary to expectation.

So:

にしては = comparison with a standard
なのに = stronger feeling of even though / despite that

In many contexts, both can work, but にしては feels a bit more like judging by the category, while なのに feels more like this fact should have led to a different result.

Can にしては only be used with nouns like 平日?

No. It is very common with nouns, but it can also follow other forms.

Some common patterns are:

Noun + にしては
Verb casual form + にしては
い-adjective + にしては
な-adjective + な + にしては

Examples:

日本語を習ってまだ三か月にしては、上手です。
= For only having studied Japanese for three months, you’re good.
高いにしては、このパソコンは便利だ。
= For being expensive, this computer is useful.
静かだにしては is not right
but
静かなわりに is more common there

In practice, learners most often first see にしては after nouns and clauses.

What are the readings of the words in this sentence?

The standard readings are:

平日 = へいじつ
にしては = にしては
市役所 = しやくしょ
混んでいる = こんでいる

So the full sentence is read:

へいじつにしては、しやくしょがこんでいる。

One pronunciation note:

市役所 is しやくしょ, not いちやくしょ
混んで comes from 混む（こむ）, and the む changes to ん in the -て form

Is 市役所 exactly the same as city hall in English?

Usually it is translated as city hall, but the nuance is closer to the city government office / municipal office.

So in English:

city hall is the normal translation
but depending on context, municipal office may be more precise

In this sentence, the important point is just that it is a public office building that people go to for administrative matters.

Is anything omitted from this sentence?

Yes, as often happens in Japanese, the broader context is omitted.

The sentence does not explicitly say:

today is a weekday
I’m looking at it now
I expected it to be less crowded

But all of that is understood from context.

A fuller English-style interpretation might be:

Considering that today is a weekday, city hall is crowded.
It’s pretty crowded at city hall for a weekday.

Japanese often leaves those background ideas unstated when they are obvious from the situation.

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