Natural spoken Japanese · 10 minutes · 0005
立て込んでる
“Busy” describes you. This expression shows several demands crowding into the same stretch of time.
急ぎではない相談
Read once for the scheduling problem, then aloud as both speakers. Notice why each unavailable time is unavailable.
A新しいページの構成、今日どこかで相談できますか。
Bすみません、今日は打ち合わせが立て込んでて、夕方まで手が空かなさそうです。
A急ぎではないので、明日でも大丈夫です。
B明日の午前中はどうですか。午後は別件と時間が重なってるんです。
A十時なら空いてます。三十分くらいで済むと思います。
Bじゃあ、十時でお願いします。今の作業が一段落したら、資料だけ先に見ておきます。
Aありがとうございます。招待を送っておきますね。
Notice: 打ち合わせが立て込んでる gives the source of the congestion. 手が空く means becoming available for another task; 一段落する means the current work reaches a stopping point, not necessarily completion. 〜たら recycles the event-trigger model from refresher 0004.
Recall: Why can B not meet today? Why is tomorrow afternoon also unsuitable? Answer with two different expressions.
Congestion, collision, and current commitment
立て込む presents several matters pressing into the same period. The camera is on the cluster of work, meetings, or visitors—not on your personality. That makes 今ちょっと立て込んでて a useful, bounded explanation for limited availability.
Nearby expressions answer different questions: Is the calendar densely filled? Do two events collide? Are your hands occupied by one task right now? Has that task reached a pause? Shogakukan’s dictionaries ground 立て込む, 詰まる, 重なる, and 手が離せない.
| Expression | Event image | Natural package |
|---|---|---|
| 立て込んでる | Several demands have crowded into this period. | 今週は仕事が立て込んでる。 |
| 予定が詰まってる | The calendar has little or no open space. | 午後は予定が詰まってる。 |
| 予定が重なる | Two or more events overlap or coincide. | 会議と面談が重なった。 |
| 手が離せない | One current task prevents you from switching away now. | 今ちょっと手が離せない。 |
| 一段落する | The current work reaches a useful stopping point. | 一段落したら連絡する。 |
忙しい is still natural. It gives a broad evaluation; these expressions make the shape of the constraint visible. 立て込んでる can cover a busy period even with gaps, while 予定が詰まってる pictures the schedule itself as full.
Retrieve 1 · Diagnose the constraint
Use 立て込む・詰まる・重なる・手が離せない, changing the form.
- 電話には出られない。今、揚げ物をしていて＿＿＿。
- 二時の会議と面談が＿＿＿しまった。
- 今週は締め切りが続いて、仕事が＿＿＿。
- 明日は朝から夕方まで予定が＿＿＿。
1. 手が離せない 2. 重なって 3. 立て込んでる 4. 詰まってる
1 is one task that cannot be left now. 2 is a collision. 3 is a demanding period. 4 is a densely filled calendar.
Retrieve 2 · Generic to natural
You cannot review a document immediately because several deadlines arrived together. Make this more precise and offer a bounded next step:
今は忙しいです。あとで見ます。
今ちょっと仕事が立て込んでるので、これが一段落したら確認しますね。
The workload is temporarily congested, and the next action has a trigger. It sounds more informative than a bare refusal without promising an exact time you cannot guarantee.
Retrieve 3 · Same “busy,” different picture
Say: “My afternoon calendar is full.” Then: “I’m cooking and can’t step away right now.”
午後は予定が詰まってる。
今、料理中で手が離せない。
The first is calendar density; the second is immediate task commitment. 立て込んでる would be less precise for one pan on the stove.
Say what kind of busy
△ 私は立て込んでいます。
→ 今ちょっと仕事が立て込んでいて……。
The first is understandable, but 立て込む naturally presents the work, schedule, meetings, or situation as congested. Naming that source also makes the limitation sound temporary and specific.
△ 会議が立て込んで、二つが同じ時間です。
→
会議が二つ重なってしまいました。
If the important fact is an exact collision, 重なる says it directly. Use 立て込む for accumulated pressure, not merely any scheduling problem.
Reschedule without sounding evasive
Take 20 seconds for cue words, then speak for 60–90 seconds. Use 立て込んでる plus at least two of 予定が詰まってる・重なる・手が離せない・一段落する.
- A colleague asks for a non-urgent discussion today.
- Explain the shape of today’s workload.
- Mention one exact conflict tomorrow.
- Offer a realistic alternative time.
- Say what you will do when the current work reaches a pause.
今日は締め切り前の仕事が立て込んでいて、夕方まで予定も詰まってるんです。今も急ぎの資料を直していて、ちょっと手が離せません。明日の午後なら空けられそうなんですが、二時は別の打ち合わせと重なっています。もし急ぎでなければ、明日の三時から三十分くらい相談しませんか。今の作業が一段落したら、資料だけ先に見ておきます。
Compare the shape of each constraint, not exact wording. Did you distinguish accumulated work, calendar density, immediate commitment, and one collision?
Ask me a follow-up question or send your spoken version for feedback. Seeing the model is not evidence of mastery; repeat tomorrow with a household or travel interruption.