Word
Kana: つごう Romaji: tsugou Level: N4

都合

Meaning in English

convenience, circumstances

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Dictionary

Word context

What it means

都合 means the circumstances, availability, or condition that allows or prevents taking a particular action; it is commonly used to talk about whether a plan fits with someone’s schedule or constraints.

Main meanings

  • Availability and feasibility of acting given a person’s timetable or constraints.
  • Feasibility of arranging a plan, indicating whether a proposed time or arrangement works for involved parties.
  • Practicality or suitability of an arrangement, focusing on what fits rather than personal feelings.

How to use it

Used in both formal and casual speech to discuss whether an action can be taken given time, resources, or constraints; commonly appears in planning, scheduling, and explanations of personal constraints, with grammatical particles to mark subject, cause, or condition.

Variants and close terms

  • 同義語: 事情 (jijou) — jijou
  • 反義語: 不都合 (futsugou) — futsugou
  • 関連語: 予定 (yotei) — yotei

Composition

  • 都 — city, capital; here conveys broad scope or overall conditions
  • 合 — to fit, to join, to agree; here indicates alignment with circumstances

Etymology

都 and 合 are typically read with kun'yomi in this compound, yielding tsugou; the term is a native Japanese formation with no direct lexical borrowing, and its spelling reflects a semantic shift from 'city/capital' and 'to fit' toward 'circumstances that enable or constrain action'.

Word class

noun (kun'yomi)

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