Learn Hardcore Japanese: kyou ha hima to iu wake de mo nai ga, sukosi nara aemasu. - It’s not like I’m free today, but I can meet for a little while.

Breakdown of kyou wa hima to iu wake de mo nai ga, sukoshi nara aemasu.

Why is は used after 今日?

今日 means today, and は marks it as the topic: as for today.

So 今日は does not just mean today in a neutral sense. It gives a slight contrastive feeling, like:

That contrast fits the sentence well, because the speaker is explaining their availability today specifically.

Also, Japanese usually does not use に with words like 今日, 明日, 昨日, so 今日は is natural here.

What does 暇 mean here? Does it mean bored?

Here, 暇 means free, not busy, or having spare time.

In this sentence, it means the speaker does not really have much free time today.

Although 暇 can sometimes imply idle or even bored depending on context, in everyday availability-related sentences it usually means:

So here it is about schedule/availability, not boredom.

What does というわけでもない mean?