← All videos

Someone in Japan Calls You Over. The English Word Coming Sends You the Wrong Way.

To say I'm coming right now. in Japanese, say 今行きます (ima ikimasu).

The ryokan staff just called you for dinner. Answer with the verb English taught you and you have said you are arriving at yourself.

ima ikimasu I'm coming right now.

Intermediate Common Mistake #learnjapanese #japanesegrammar #japantravel #japanesephrases #commonmistakes

Kanji in this phrase

今行きます
いまいきます
お食事
おしょくじ
準備
じゅんび

Why this phrase

A ryokan corridor at dinner time. Hana plays the staff member who announces that the meal is ready; Kofuku plays the guest who starts to answer with the wrong verb, catches it, and lands the right one. Deliver the line as hai then the phrase, because a guest answering a called announcement leads with the acknowledgment rather than bare starting the sentence. One takeaway: iku and kuru track the SPEAKER's position, not the listener's, so movement toward the person who called you is iku. Do not phrase it as kuru means come, because that framing is exactly what causes the error. Register note for the script: do not use mairimasu, which is humble language that staff use toward you; sugu ikimasu is natural too, but keep ima so the contrast stays visible.

More phrases like this

Browse the full phrase-video catalog →

Get the free phrasebook

15 essential phrases for your trip — romaji included, zero studying.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.