今（いま）
JLPT N5 · noun
Pitch accent: atamadaka (head-high) — first mora high, then falls
Meaning: now
Example sentences
- すみません、今、何時ですか。 — Excuse me, what time is it now?
- わかりました、今すぐ行きます。 — Understood, I'll go right now.
Idioms & proverbs containing “今”
- 昔は昔、今は今 (むかしはむかし、いまはいま) — let bygones be bygones; the past is the past, the present is the present
- 昨日の友は今日の敵 (きのうのともはきょうのてき) — a friend today may turn against you tomorrow
- 今泣いた烏がもう笑う (いまないたからすがもうわらう) — a child's emotions change easily; the bird that cried now laughs
- 明日の百より今日の五十 (あすのひゃくよりきょうのごじゅう) — a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; fifty today is better than a hundred tomorrow
- 今日の一針、明日の十針 (きょうのひとはり、あすのとはり) — a stitch in time saves nine; one needle today, ten needles tomorrow
- 今日は人の身明日は我が身 (きょうはひとのみあすはわがみ) — what chances to one man may happen to all; what happens to one today may happen to another tomorrow; misfortunes can happen to anyone
Related words
See it used in real works
- Example sentences from Japanese novels & web fiction (Massif)
- Hear “今” pronounced in real videos (YouGlish)