Breakdown of matiawase ni okuresou desu kara, eki he isogimasu.
Questions & Answers about matiawase ni okuresou desu kara, eki he isogimasu.
Why is 待ち合わせ used here? Does it mean meeting?
Why does the sentence use に after 待ち合わせ?
Because 遅れる normally takes に for the thing you are late for.
So:
- 学校に遅れる = be late for school
- 約束に遅れる = be late for an appointment
- 待ち合わせに遅れる = be late for a meetup
For an English speaker, this can feel a little unusual because English uses for or sometimes to, but Japanese uses に here.
What does 遅れそう mean exactly?
遅れそう means it looks like (someone) will be late or (someone) seems likely to be late.
It is made from:
- 遅れる = to be late
- verb stem 遅れ
- そう = looks like / seems likely
So:
- 遅れそう = looks like I’ll be late
In this sentence, it does not mean someone already is late. It means they think they are about to end up late.
Is this the same そう as in reported speech, like I heard that...?
No. This is a different use of そう.
There are two common そう patterns:
Verb stem + そう
= looks like / seems likely to- 雨が降りそう = It looks like it’s going to rain
- 遅れそう = Looks like I’ll be late
Plain form + そうです
= I heard that...- 雨が降るそうです = I heard that it will rain
In your sentence, 遅れそうです is the first type: seems likely to be late.
Why is it 遅れそうです and not just 遅れそう?
です makes the sentence polite.
- 遅れそう = casual
- 遅れそうです = polite
This sentence also ends with 急ぎます, which is polite, so using です keeps the style consistent.
What does から mean here?
Could ので be used instead of から?
Yes, ので is possible:
- 待ち合わせに遅れそうですので、駅へ急ぎます。
This sounds a bit softer and slightly more formal than から.
Very roughly:
- から = because / so
- ので = because, with a softer tone
Both are correct. In everyday conversation, から is very common.
Why is it 駅へ and not 駅に?
へ marks direction: toward the station.
- 駅へ急ぎます = hurry toward/to the station
With movement, へ often emphasizes the direction of motion. That fits well with 急ぎます, because the speaker is moving quickly in that direction.
English usually just says to the station, but Japanese can choose between へ and に in many movement contexts. Here, へ sounds very natural.
What does 急ぎます mean here? Is it just to hurry?
Yes. 急ぎます is the polite non-past form of 急ぐ, meaning to hurry.
In this sentence:
- 駅へ急ぎます = I’ll hurry to the station / I’m hurrying to the station
The Japanese non-past form can cover both a future sense and a present habitual/immediate sense depending on context. Here it sounds like an immediate action the speaker is taking now or about to take.
Why isn’t the subject stated? Where is I?
Japanese often leaves out the subject when it is obvious from context.
In this sentence, the natural implied subject is I:
- (私は) 待ち合わせに遅れそうですから、駅へ急ぎます。
But saying 私は is not necessary unless the speaker wants emphasis or contrast. Japanese commonly omits words that can be understood.
Is 待ち合わせに遅れそうですから、駅へ急ぎます a complete natural sentence?
Yes, it is natural and complete.
It has:
- a reason clause: 待ち合わせに遅れそうですから
- a main clause: 駅へ急ぎます
Japanese often connects ideas this way:
- A ですから、B ます。
- Because A, I will do B.
So this is a very normal sentence pattern.
Is the sentence formal or casual?
It is polite because it uses:
- です
- ます
A more casual version would be something like:
- 待ち合わせに遅れそうだから、駅へ急ぐ。
So the given sentence is suitable for polite everyday speech.
Why are there spaces between the Japanese words?
Could this sentence also mean I’m hurrying to the station because the meetup is running late?
No. The sentence means the speaker is likely to be late for the meetup, not that the meetup itself is delayed.
That is because:
- 待ち合わせに遅れそう means be late for the meetup
- the person who is late is the omitted subject, usually I
If you wanted to say the meeting itself is delayed, you would need a different structure.
Can 待ち合わせ mean the people you are meeting, or only the event?
Usually it refers to the arranged meeting/appointment itself, not the people.
So:
- 待ち合わせに遅れる = be late for the arranged meetup
- not be late for the people
Of course, in real life being late for the meetup also means being late to meet the people, but grammatically the noun points to the appointment/meeting arrangement.
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