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Questions & Answers about ima wa muri desu.
What does 無理 really mean here? Is it only “impossible”?
無理 (muri) can mean impossible, unfeasible, or unreasonable/too much to ask. In refusals, it often implies “that can’t be done (under these circumstances),” not necessarily that it’s physically impossible—just not realistic or acceptable right now.
Why is は pronounced “wa” here?
When は is the topic particle, it’s pronounced “wa” due to historical spelling. As part of a word (like はな), it’s pronounced “ha.” In いまは, the は is the topic particle, so it’s “wa.”
What does the は after いま do? Can I drop it?
は marks いま (now) as the topic, giving a contrastive nuance: “as for now (as opposed to other times) ….” With は, it subtly suggests “maybe later could be different.” You can drop it and say いま、無理です or いま無理です, which states “now it’s not possible” without the same contrastive hint.
Is this polite enough? How could I soften it?
無理です is polite, but can feel blunt when refusing. Soften it with apologies and hedges:
- すみません、今はちょっと無理です。
- 申し訳ありませんが、今は難しいです。
- 今は都合がつきません。 Adding ちょっと and an apology is a common softening strategy.
How is 無理 different from できません or 難しい?
- 無理です: Emphasizes the request/situation is unreasonable or not feasible; can sound more absolute.
- できません: Neutral “cannot do (it),” focusing on ability/permission/conditions.
- 難しいです: Literally “difficult,” often used as a polite euphemism for a refusal (softer than 無理).
What part of speech is 無理? Why does it take です?
無理 is both a noun and a na-adjective. Predicatively it uses the copula だ/です: 無理です. Attributively it’s 無理な (e.g., 無理な計画 “an unrealistic plan”). The adverbial form 無理に means “forcibly/unreasonably” (e.g., 無理に行く “go by force”). There’s also 無理をする “to overdo/strain oneself.”
How do I say “for me/us/him, it’s not possible now”?
Use には to mark the person as the perspective:
- 私には今は無理です。
- 彼には今は無理です。 This highlights “for X, at least right now, it’s not feasible.”
Why are there spaces in the example? Should I use kanji?
Standard Japanese doesn’t use spaces between words. Learning materials sometimes add them to show segmentation. In normal writing you’d use kanji and no spaces: 今は無理です。
Can I change the word order or drop parts?
Time expressions like 今 typically come early. Natural variants include:
- 今は無理です。 (most natural)
- 今、無理です。 (no contrastive は) Casual speech may drop です: 今は無理。 Putting 今は at the end (無理です、今は) can work for emphasis in speech, but 無理です今は (no comma) sounds odd.
How do I turn it into a polite question?
- 今は無理ですか。 (Is now not possible?)
- 今は難しいでしょうか。 (Would it be difficult now?) — softer
- More tentative: 今は可能でしょうか。 (Would it be possible now?)
How do I negate or change the tense?
- Plain negative: 今は無理じゃない。 (It’s not impossible now.)
- Polite negative: 今は無理ではありません。
- Past: 今は無理でした。 (It turned out it wasn’t possible now/earlier.)
- Casual past: 今は無理だった。
Is 今が無理です correct? What’s the nuance?
It’s grammatical but marked. が emphasizes the subject: “It’s now that’s impossible (as opposed to other times).” You’d use it in a contrastive answer like: A: いつなら無理ですか。 B: 今が無理です。 For a neutral refusal, 今は無理です is more typical.
Are there more formal or customer-service versions?
Yes, you’ll hear keigo and set phrases:
- 申し訳ございませんが、ただいまは対応いたしかねます。
- ただいまは難しい状況でございます。
- 恐れ入りますが、今は難しいです。 ただいま is a more formal/polite “now” often used in service contexts.
What do final particles like ね or よ do here?
- 今は無理ですね。 Soft, seeking agreement or acknowledging the situation.
- 今は無理ですよ。 More assertive: “Just so you know, it’s not possible now.”
- Casual softening: 今は無理かな。 (I guess it’s not possible now…)
What about pronunciation or pitch accent?
In Tokyo Japanese, both 今 (いま) and 無理 are commonly accent pattern 1 (頭高):
- いま: Íma (fall after い)
- 無理: Múri (fall after む) So 今は無理です roughly sounds like Íma-wa Múri desu, with the drops after い and む. Accent varies by dialect, so don’t stress about it early on.