Breakdown of tugou ga warui nara, kesseki wo renrakusite kudasai.
をwo
direct object particle
がga
subject particle
くださいkudasai
please
悪いwarui
bad
ならnara
conditional particle
連絡するrenrakusuru
to contact
都合tugou
convenience
欠席kesseki
absence
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Questions & Answers about tugou ga warui nara, kesseki wo renrakusite kudasai.
Is the sentence natural as-is?
It’s understandable, but many native speakers would prefer one of these:
- 都合が悪いなら、欠席の連絡をしてください。
- 都合が悪いなら、欠席しますと（ご）連絡ください。
- 都合が悪いなら、欠席の旨（むね）をご連絡ください。 Saying 欠席を連絡する is heard, but sounds a bit off to many; the “content” of the contact is more naturally marked with の, と, or nominalized.
Why is が used after 都合 in 都合が悪い?
Because 都合が悪い is a set predicate meaning “(one’s) circumstances/schedule are unfavorable (for it).” が marks the subject state. Using は here would topicalize/contrast (e.g., 都合は悪いけど… “as for my schedule, it’s bad, but…”), which isn’t the neutral way to say it.
How do なら, たら, and ば differ here?
All work:
- 都合が悪いなら: “if it’s the case that (given what we know) …”; condition based on a known or assumed situation.
- 都合が悪かったら: more event/time-based “if/when it turns out …”; very common in speech.
- 都合が悪ければ: general/hypothetical, a bit more formal. Meaning overlap is big; choose based on tone. For polished writing: ご都合が悪ければ.
Is there any difference between 悪いなら and 悪ければ?
Slightly. 悪いなら sounds plainer/conversational; 悪ければ is more formal and neutral in notices or emails. Both are correct.
Should I add honorific prefixes like ご?
Yes, when referring to the listener’s situation or when writing politely:
- ご都合が悪ければ、ご連絡ください。 Don’t say お連絡; the idiomatic form is ご連絡. “ご欠席” exists in very formal invitations, but “欠席の旨をご連絡ください” is safer and common.
Who is being contacted? How do I mark that?
Use に for the recipient:
- 都合が悪いなら、先生に欠席の連絡をしてください。
- 都合が悪いなら、事務室にご連絡ください。 Leaving it out is okay if the recipient is obvious from context.
How do I express the content of the contact correctly?
Common patterns:
- Quote with と: 欠席しますと（ご）連絡ください。
- Nominalize with の: 欠席の連絡をしてください。
- Formal “旨（むね）”: 欠席の旨をご連絡ください。 “欠席を連絡する” is less natural.
What’s the nuance difference among 連絡してください, 連絡ください, 連絡をください, and ご連絡ください?
- 連絡してください: straightforward request; neutral–polite.
- 連絡ください: shorter, a bit more casual.
- 連絡をください: okay, but less idiomatic than ご連絡ください.
- ご連絡ください: most standard in business/polite writing. To soften further: ご連絡いただけますか／ください.
Could I just say 欠席してください?
That would mean “Please be absent,” which changes the meaning. Here you want “Please let us know you’ll be absent,” so keep 連絡 in some form.
Is 欠席 a noun or a verb? Should I use 欠席する?
欠席 is a noun; the verb is 欠席する. You can say:
- 欠席する旨をご連絡ください。
- 欠席しますと連絡してください。 Both are natural.
Why is ください written in hiragana, not kanji (下さい)?
In requests, the modern standard is ください (hiragana). 下さい (kanji) is used for the literal “give me” meaning (e.g., 水を下さい), not for the request auxiliary.
Is 都合が悪い about morality or rudeness?
No. It means “the timing/circumstances don’t work (for me/you).” Related terms:
- 都合: scheduling/convenience.
- 具合／調子: condition/health/performance.
- 便利: convenient (for things/services), not for personal schedule.
Any good synonyms for 都合が悪い in this context?
Yes:
- 都合がつかない（ようでしたら）
- 予定が合わない（場合は）
- 難しい（ようでしたら） …ご連絡ください。
Is the comma and spacing okay?
In standard Japanese, write without spaces and keep the comma before the request:
- 都合が悪いなら、欠席の連絡をしてください。 The spaces you saw were just for learning segmentation.
Can you give one polished, natural rewrite?
- ご都合が悪ければ、欠席の旨をご連絡ください。 Add a recipient if needed: ご都合が悪ければ、担任の先生に欠席の旨をご連絡ください。