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How to Say ‘Now’ in Japanese

いま

いま

💬 Usage Tip: [いま] means “now/currently.” It often appears with present situation questions like work or study.

🇯🇵 In Japan: When someone asks about your “now,” they usually mean your current status (job, school, where you live), not what you’re doing this exact second.

Word-by-Word Breakdown

いまいま

[ima]

now; currently

Used to talk about your current situation (work/study): いま〜しています (I’m currently doing…).

Example

いま、かいしゃでしごとをしています。

Right now, I work at a company.

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