How to Say I Am on My Way in Japanese: Ima Mukatte imasu and Arrival Times

Ima mukatte imasu: the core phrase

Mukau means to head towards a place, and the continuous form mukatte imasu means I am heading there right now. Ima, now, goes at the front. The phrase says nothing about whether you are early or late, which is why it is so useful: it simply reports that you are in motion. To a friend, the contracted mukatteru is what you actually type, often with yo for a bit of reassurance.

Ima iku, or ima ikimasu politely, is a close relative. It fits when you have just set off or are about to, and it is the standard reply when someone asks where you are and you have not left yet. Ima mukatte imasu implies you are already moving. Both are correct in a text; the choice only tells the listener how far along you are.

In a message to a shop, a hotel or a business contact, use the full polite form and add the destination: ima sochira ni mukatte imasu, I am heading to your place now. Sochira, there where you are, is the polite way to refer to their location without naming it.

Saying when you will arrive

The other person almost always wants a time, so attach one. Mō sugu tsukimasu, I'll arrive very soon, is for the last few minutes. For anything longer, use ato plus a number of minutes plus de tsukimasu: ato go-fun de tsukimasu, I'll be there in five minutes. Ato means remaining, and de marks the time it takes. If you are unsure, add kurai or gurai after the minutes: ato jup-pun gurai de.

Fun counts minutes and changes sound after some numbers: ip-pun, ni-fun, san-pun, yon-pun, go-fun, rop-pun, nana-fun, hap-pun, kyū-fun, jup-pun. The ones you will use most are go-fun, jup-pun, jūgo-fun and sanjup-pun. For longer waits, switch to a clock time: jū-ji han goro ni tsukimasu, I'll arrive around half past ten.

A useful softener is tsuku to omoimasu, I think I'll arrive, which admits that trains and traffic are not fully in your control. Yotei, schedule, does the same in a slightly more formal way: jū-ji ni tsuku yotei desu, I'm due to arrive at ten.

Saying where you are right now

A location is often more useful than a time, especially in a city where the other person can judge distance better than you. The pattern is ima plus place plus desu, or ni imasu: ima Shibuya desu, I'm in Shibuya now; ima eki ni imasu, I'm at the station. To describe where on a journey you are, name the train and the next stop: ima densha no naka de, tsugi ga Shinjuku, I'm on the train, Shinjuku is next.

Landmarks work well in Japan because everyone uses the same ones: a station exit, a convenience store, a big shop sign. Kita-guchi, north exit; minami-guchi, south exit; kaisatsu, the ticket gate; and the name of a convenience store cover most meeting points. If the other person is already there, ask doko ni iru?, where are you, and go to them rather than describing your own position at length.

When someone asks ima dono hen?, whereabouts are you now, they want a quick position, not a story. Answer with the place and the estimated minutes together: ima Ueno, ato jūgo-fun kurai.

Texting a friend

Messages between friends are short, in plain form, and often skip particles. A typical exchange runs: doko? from the person waiting, ima mukatteru, ato go-fun from the one moving, and ryōkai or okkē back. Yo and ne soften the plain forms so they do not read as curt. Stickers and a single emoji do a lot of the emotional work, so the words can stay minimal.

When you arrive, send tsuita, I've arrived, and where you are. If you cannot see each other, describe what you are standing next to rather than sending directions. The final message is usually mieta, I can see you, or a wave.

Calling a shop, restaurant or office

On the phone to a business, structure matters more than vocabulary. Give the name on the booking and the time, say you are on your way, give an estimate, and ask whether that is all right. Restaurants and hair salons in particular want to know whether to hold your slot. Ima mukatte orimasu, using the humble orimasu, is the most polite version of the core phrase, though mukatte imasu is perfectly acceptable.

If you are heading to a company for a meeting, the same sentences work with the contact's name and a short apology if you are cutting it fine. How long a restaurant will hold a table, or a clinic will hold an appointment, varies by place, so ask directly instead of assuming: nan-pun made daijōbu desu ka, until how many minutes past is it all right.

Words for the journey

The vocabulary below covers the messages in this guide. Most of it is about stations, because most meetings in Japanese cities start at one.

Machiawase, the arrangement to meet, gives you machiawase basho, the meeting point, and machiawase jikan, the meeting time. Confirming both before you set off saves most of the messages in this guide.

Iku or kuru: the viewpoint rule

English speakers say I'm coming when heading towards the listener. Japanese does not. Iku is movement away from where the speaker is now, and kuru is movement towards the speaker, so when you are on your way to a friend you are leaving your spot, and you say ima iku. Saying ima kuru would mean someone is coming to you.

The rule holds on the phone as well: the person waiting says hayaku kite, come quickly, and the person moving says ima iku, sugu iku. Once you arrive, the same friend says kita, you came, and you say kita yo, I'm here, because now the arrival is being viewed from the meeting point. There is one polite exception: when speaking humbly to a customer or senior, ukagaimasu or mairimasu replaces ikimasu, as in go-fun hodo de mairimasu.

• You, heading to them: ima iku, ima ikimasu, ima mukatte imasu
• Them, waiting for you: hayaku kite, itsu kuru?
• You, after arriving: kita yo, tsuita yo, tsukimashita
• You, humble, to a customer: sugu mairimasu, go-fun hodo de ukagaimasu

Common mistakes

The first mistake is ima kimasu for I'm coming, which puts you on the wrong side of the viewpoint rule above. The second is a vague message with no time: ima mukatte imasu alone leaves the other person guessing, so add ato and minutes or a location. The third is over-promising: saying ato go-fun when it will be fifteen costs more goodwill than an honest jūgo-fun would.

On the phone, learners sometimes forget to identify themselves and launch straight into ima mukatte imasu, which leaves the restaurant unsure whose booking is affected. Start with your name and the booking time. And if the other person says o-machi shite orimasu, we'll be waiting, the right reply is a simple yoroshiku onegai shimasu.