Learn Hardcore Japanese: konsyuu ha yappari isogasii.

It marks the topic: “As for this week …”. It sets up 今週 as the frame and comments about it with 忙しい. With は, there’s often a faint contrast implied (this week vs. other times), especially here with やっぱり reinforcing that nuance.

Why is there no subject like “I” in the sentence?

Japanese often drops subjects when they’re clear from context. 今週はやっぱり忙しい。 will usually be understood as “I’m busy this week (as expected)” if you’re talking about your own schedule, but it could also mean “we/the office/this week (in general) is busy” depending on context.

Why doesn’t the sentence end with です? Is 忙しい a complete sentence?

Yes. 忙しい is an i‑adjective and can directly function as a predicate. For politeness, you can add です: 今週はやっぱり忙しいです。 Don’t say 忙しいだ (that’s ungrammatical with i‑adjectives).

What nuance does やっぱり add here?

やっぱり adds an “as expected / after all / indeed” feel. It signals confirmation of a prior hunch or expectation, sometimes with mild resignation. It’s not “really” in the sense of “very” (that would be 本当に or とても). So the tone is like: “Yeah, as I thought, this week’s busy.”

What’s the difference between やっぱり and やはり?

Same core meaning, different register:

やっぱり: casual, very common in speech.
やはり: more formal/neutral; frequent in writing, news, and polite speech. In this sentence, either works; choose based on formality: 今週はやはり忙しいです。 sounds more formal than やっぱり.

Can I say やっぱ or やっぱし?

やっぱ: very casual clipped form; common in everyday speech. Example: 今週はやっぱ忙しい。
やっぱし: colloquial/older or dialectal flavor; heard in some regions or as a stylistic choice. Use やっぱり (or やはり) in neutral/formal contexts.

Where can やっぱり go in the sentence?

Flexible placement. All are natural with slight shifts in emphasis:

やっぱり今週は忙しい。 (whole statement is “as expected”)
今週はやっぱり忙しい。 (common; “as for this week, it’s indeed busy”)
今週、やっぱり忙しい。 (very conversational; comma often used in writing) Putting やっぱり at the very end (…忙しい、やっぱり) is possible as an afterthought in speech.

Why use は and not も? When would も make sense?

は sets the topic: “As for this week…”
も means “also/too,” implying other weeks were busy as well: 今週もやっぱり忙しい。 = “This week is busy too (as expected).”

Can I say 今週がやっぱり忙しい? Is that wrong?

It’s not wrong, but it’s marked. が identifies the subject and works when you’re selecting/contrasting which week is busy:

Q: “Which week is busy?” A: 今週がやっぱり忙しい。 = “It’s this week that (as expected) is busy.” For a neutral statement about your schedule, 今週は is the natural choice.

How do I make it more polite or add sentence-ending particles naturally?

Polite: 今週はやっぱり忙しいです。
Add particles:
- …忙しいですか。 (polite question)
- …忙しいですね。 (seeking agreement: “busy, huh”)
- …忙しいですよ。 (assertive/informing)
- …忙しいですよね。 (soft assertion + seeking agreement)

How do I ask “Are you busy this week (after all)?” in casual vs polite speech?

Polite: 今週はやっぱり忙しいですか。
Casual: 今週、やっぱり忙しい？
Without やっぱり (more neutral): 今週忙しい？ / 今週は忙しいですか。

How do I conjugate 忙しい (negative/past etc.)?

Present: 忙しい
Negative: 忙しくない
Past: 忙しかった
Past negative: 忙しくなかった
Polite negative: 忙しくありません (or 忙しくないです)
Polite past: 忙しかったです
Polite past negative: 忙しくありませんでした (or 忙しくなかったです)

What’s the difference between 忙しい and 忙しくなる?

忙しい = “is busy” (state).
忙しくなる = “become/get busy” (change into that state). Example: 今週は忙しくなる。 = “It will get busy this week.”

Does this sentence mean “I am busy” or “this week is busy (in general)”?

It’s ambiguous by design; Japanese relies on context. Most often it means “I’m busy this week,” but it could refer to your team, office, or general conditions. To be explicit, add a subject/topic:

私は今週やっぱり忙しい。
会社は今週やっぱり忙しい。

Pronunciation and reading: how do I say these words?

今週 is read こんしゅう (kon-shū).
忙しい is read いそがしい (i-so-ga-shii).
やっぱり is pronounced with a doubled p: yap-pa-ri (there’s a small っ). Don’t say “ya-pa-ri.”

Can I drop は and just say 今週やっぱり忙しい?

Yes, in casual speech it’s common to omit は with time expressions: 今週忙しい, 今週やっぱり忙しい. It sounds more conversational and quick.

Is 忙しいだ ever correct?

No. I‑adjectives (like 忙しい) don’t take だ. For politeness, use 忙しいです. For explanatory tone, use 忙しいんだ／忙しいんです (“you see, [I] am busy”).

Are there other ways to say “as expected/after all” besides やっぱり?

やはり (more formal/neutral equivalent)
案の定 (as one had expected; a bit literary/formal)
結局 (in the end/result; not necessarily “expected”)
どうせ (anyway/it’s no use; defeatist nuance) Choose based on nuance; やっぱり/やはり are the safest for “as expected.”

Are the spaces in 今週　は　やっぱり　忙しい normal? Should there be a comma?

Japanese normally has no spaces: 今週はやっぱり忙しい。 A comma after the topic is optional for readability: 今週は、やっぱり忙しい。