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asita no yuugata ha tugou ga ii desu ka?

明日あした　の　夕方ゆうがた　は　都合つごう　が　いい　です　か？asita no yuugata ha tugou ga ii desu ka?
Are you available tomorrow evening?
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Questions & Answers about asita no yuugata ha tugou ga ii desu ka?

What does the の between 明日 and 夕方 do?
  • It links the two nouns so that 明日 modifies 夕方: 明日の夕方 = “tomorrow’s evening.”
  • This noun-to-noun linker is very common in Japanese. In English we don’t usually say “tomorrow’s evening,” but in Japanese it’s the natural way to say “tomorrow evening.”
Why is は after 夕方? Could I use が there?
  • は marks the topic: 明日の夕方は… = “As for tomorrow evening, …”
  • In this sentence, the thing being evaluated is your 都合 (convenience), not the time itself. So the time is a topic, not the grammatical subject.
  • Don’t replace that は with が. A structure like 明日の夕方が都合がいいですか is unnatural here because 都合 is the subject of いい (it already has が).
Why is there a が before いい (都合がいい)?
  • It’s the pattern X が いい/悪い meaning “X is good/bad.” Here, 都合 (convenience/availability) is the subject of the adjective いい.
  • Negative: 都合が悪い = “(someone is) not available / it’s inconvenient.”
What exactly does 都合 mean?
  • 都合 (つごう) means “one’s circumstances/convenience,” especially regarding schedule and availability.
  • 都合がいい = “fits my schedule / works for me.” It’s not about moral “good,” but about whether you can make it.
  • Opposite: 都合が悪い = “doesn’t work / I can’t make it.”
Is いい polite enough? How do よい and よろしい differ?
  • いい with です/ます is perfectly polite in everyday contexts.
  • よい is a bit more formal/literary; you’ll see 良い in writing, but it’s still usually read いい in speech.
  • よろしい is the more polite/honorific form. With the honorific prefix on convenience, you get businesslike phrases such as:
    • 明日の夕方はご都合よろしいでしょうか。
How do I say this casually?
  • 明日の夕方、都合いい？
  • 明日の夕方って都合いい？
  • Other casual options:
    • 明日の夕方、空いてる？ (Are you free?)
    • 明日の夕方、大丈夫？ (Is that okay for you?)
How do I say this very politely (e.g., in a business email)?
  • 明日の夕方のご都合はいかがでしょうか。
  • 明日の夕方はご都合よろしいでしょうか。
  • Even more formal set phrase: ご都合のほどいかがでしょうか。
How would I answer yes/no naturally?
  • Yes:
    • ええ、都合がいいです。
    • 明日の夕方は大丈夫です。
    • Add a time: 18時なら大丈夫です。
  • No:
    • すみません、明日の夕方は都合が悪いです。
    • その時間は難しいです。
    • Offer an alternative: 明後日の夕方はどうですか。
What’s the difference between 都合がいい, 大丈夫, 空いている, and 予定?
  • 都合がいい: It works for my schedule; I can make it.
  • 大丈夫: It’s okay/acceptable. Broader and less precise, but very common in scheduling.
  • 空いている (あいている): I have an open slot / I’m free.
  • 予定: Plans/schedule. 予定があります = I have plans; 予定がありません = I have no plans (I’m free).
Do I need to add ご before 都合 when asking about the listener?
  • Adding ご makes it more polite toward the listener: ご都合.
  • Polite options: ご都合はいかがですか, ご都合よろしいでしょうか.
  • Without ご (i.e., 都合) is still polite in normal conversation, especially with ですか.
Where is “you” in this sentence? Why isn’t it stated?
  • Japanese often omits pronouns when they’re obvious from context. The “you” is understood.
  • Explicit あなた is usually unnecessary and can sound awkward or overly pointed here.
When do I use は vs に with time expressions like 明日の夕方?
  • Use は to set a time as the topic for evaluation/comparison:
    • 明日の夕方は都合がいいですか。 (As for tomorrow evening, is it convenient?)
  • Use に to mark the time something happens:
    • 明日の夕方に会えますか。 (Can we meet tomorrow evening?)
Can I say 明日夕方 without の?
  • In normal speech and writing, include の: 明日の夕方.
  • Dropping の (明日夕方) is headline-style shorthand and not standard in regular sentences.
What time does 夕方 cover? How is it different from 夜 or 晩?
  • 夕方: roughly late afternoon to early evening, about 4–6/7 PM (season and context vary).
  • 夜: evening/night more broadly, roughly 7 PM onward.
  • 晩: often overlaps with 夜; common in set phrases like 今晩 (tonight). Regional preference varies (e.g., 晩 more common in Kansai casual speech).
Is it okay to use both か and a question mark?
  • In emails/texts, か？ is common. In very formal writing, you can drop the ? and use か。
  • Using just ？ without か is casual; with ですか it looks properly polite.
Are spaces between words normal in Japanese?
  • No. Spaces are added here for learners. Normally you’d write:
    • 明日の夕方は都合がいいですか。
How do you read each word?
  • 明日: あした (ashita) or あす (asu; more formal)
  • 夕方: ゆうがた (yuugata)
  • 都合: つごう (tsugou)
  • いい: ii
  • ですか: desu ka
Why not ask 都合がありますか?
  • 都合がある usually means “I have some other (conflicting) circumstances/commitment.” It often implies you can’t do it.
  • 都合がありますか would sound like “Do you have some (conflicting) reason/commitment?” not “Are you available?”
  • If you want “Can you make time?”, you can say 都合はつきますか / 都合つきますか (“Can you manage your schedule?”).
Can I say 都合はいいですか or drop が after 都合?
  • 都合はいいですか is grammatical when 都合 is being topicalized, e.g., 明日の夕方、都合はいいですか。
  • In casual speech, dropping が is common: 都合いい？
  • The textbook-neutral version with both time topic and subject is 明日の夕方は都合がいいですか。
Can I use って after 明日の夕方?
  • Yes, in casual speech: 明日の夕方って都合いい？
  • って here marks a casual, conversational topic (“speaking of tomorrow evening…”), softer than は.