LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Sep 30, 2026

Hurry up in Japanese: 急いそいで, 早はやく and the さっさと you don't want to hear

"Hurry up" in Japanese is 急いそいで (isoide) or 早はやく (hayaku) — 急いそいで is the polite, all-purpose request, 早はやく! is the shout you hear most in anime, and さっさと is the version that sounds like you are losing your patience.

There is no single word for "hurry up." Japanese has a small family of them, and the difference between members is mostly about two things: how strong the push is, and who you are pushing. Get that wrong and you either sound like a cold stranger to a friend, or like a drill sergeant to your boss's boss. This article sorts the family by strength so you can pick the right one on the spot.

The basics

What is the most common way to say "hurry up" in Japanese?

急いそいで(ください) is the safe default. It comes from the verb 急いそぐ (いそぐ, "to hurry") in its te-form, and adding ください makes it a polite request.

急いそいでください。 — Please hurry. (polite request, to a stranger) 急いそいで!電車でんしゃが来くる! — Hurry! The train is coming! (casual, urgent, to a friend or family)

急いそぐ is a regular u-verb that ends in ぐ, so the te-form swaps ぐ for いで: 急いそぐ → 急いそいで. If that pattern is new, the te-form guide covers every verb ending. Drop ください and you have the casual version, which is exactly what a parent shouts at a kid who is still looking for their shoes.

What does 早はやく mean, and how is it different from 急いそいで?

早はやく (hayaku) means "quickly" or "soon," and it is the form you hear most often as a bare shout. It is the adverb form of the adjective 早はやい (early, fast in time).

早はやく! — Hurry up! (casual, the one-word shout) 早はやくして。 — Hurry up. / Get a move on. (casual, "make it quick" — the anime classic) 早はやく来きて! — Come quick! (casual, to a friend)

The difference is subtle but real. 急いそいで tells someone to increase their speed — walk faster, type faster. 早はやく tells them to bring the result sooner. 急いそいで works well when someone is physically moving. 早はやく works well for "get on with it," which is why 早はやくして is so common when someone is dawdling. In practice you can swap them in many sentences and nobody will blink, but 早はやく carries slightly more nag. The kanji follow that split: 早はやく is the time kanji, 速はやく the speed one as in もっと速はやく走はしって (run faster), and fast, early, slow and late gives a memory aid, since 速そく has the road part on the left.

How do you make it polite for customers or a boss?

Add お in front of the verb stem and use お急いそぎ. That gives you お急いそぎですか — "Are you in a hurry?" — a very common line from shop staff and service desks.

お急いそぎですか。 — Are you in a hurry? (polite, service staff to a customer) お急いそぎのところ、申し訳もうしわけありません。 — I'm sorry to trouble you when you're in a hurry. (very polite, business setting)

Notice this is not "please hurry." It is politely noticing that the other person might be in a hurry. Japanese often works this way: instead of pushing someone directly, you describe their situation and let them decide. In business email you will also see お急いそぎのところ恐おそれ入いりますが used as a soft opening before a request.

Is there a noun for "hurry"?

Yes — 急いそぎ (いそぎ), meaning something urgent. It shows up as 急いそぎの用事ようじ (an urgent errand) or 急いそぎの仕事しごと (a rush job).

急いそぎの用事ようじがあるんです。 — I have something urgent to take care of. (polite-casual, explaining why you have to leave)

Beyond the basics

What is 急いそげ, and when would anyone say it?

急いそげ is the command form (imperative) of 急いそぐ, and it is blunt. It has no politeness at all, so it belongs to shouted orders, sports, battles, and anime.

急いそげ! — Hurry! / Move it! (commanding, gruff, hero or captain energy) みんな、急いそげ! — Everyone, hurry! (commanding, emergency)

You will recognize it from action scenes: a character shouting at the whole group to move. In real daily life it sounds aggressive to a single person face to face, so keep it for listening comprehension unless you are yelling across a stadium.

What is さっさと, and why does it sound so irritated?

さっさと means "quickly and without dawdling," and it carries a note of impatience. It is not a request on its own; it modifies a verb, and it often comes with a rude command form.

さっさとしろ! — Get on with it! (rough, angry, often male-coded speech) さっさと帰かえりなさい。 — Go home already. (stern, a parent or teacher) さっさと食たべて。 — Eat up, already. (casual, nagging)

The pure information in さっさと is "fast." The feeling is "I've been waiting long enough." Anime villains, rivals, and fed-up older siblings love it. Notice that you can be much gentler by attaching it to a softer ending, but the impatience is hard to remove when it is aimed at the listener. When in doubt, don't use it on someone you want to stay on good terms with.

What if you want to say "no need to hurry"?

急いそがなくていいよ is the kind version: "you don't have to hurry." It is 急いそぐ in the negative form, then なくていい, meaning "it's fine if you don't."

急いそがなくていいよ。 — You don't have to hurry. (casual, gentle, to a friend) 急いそがなくても大丈夫だいじょうぶですよ。 — There's no need to rush. (polite, reassuring a customer or coworker) ゆっくりでいいですよ。 — Take your time. (polite, "slowly is fine")

This is the same pattern covered in the なくてもいい guide, and it is one of the nicest things you can say to a nervous person. Pair it with ゆっくり ("slowly") and you have the standard soft landing.

How does "hurry up" connect to "wait" and "I'll be late"?

They are opposite sides of the same moment. When one person says 早はやく! the other often says ちょっと待まって — and we cover that side in the wait in Japanese guide. If you are the one running behind, the phrases you need are in how to say you will be late. Learn all three and you can handle the entire "we're going to miss the train" conversation.

What about 早はやい versus 速はやい?

They are both read はやい, and they are different words: 早はやい is about time (early, soon) and 速はやい is about speed (fast-moving). Since 早はやく is an adverb of 早はやい, it means "soon" more than "at high speed." That difference deserves its own article; for now, remember that both spell はやい and both can come out as はやく in speech.

Common mistakes

  • Using 急いそげ or さっさと with someone you should be polite to. Both are commands or near-commands. If you say さっさとしろ to a colleague, the conversation ends. Use 急いそいでください or お急いそぎください instead.
  • Saying 急いそぐください. The pattern is te-form plus ください. Dictionary form does not work: 急いそいでください is correct.
  • Using お急いそぎですか to tell someone to hurry. It is a question about their situation, not a demand. If you say it to a slow customer it sounds odd, like you are pointing out that they're slow. It is meant for staff noticing the customer might be pressed for time.
  • Treating 早はやく and 急いそいで as always identical. They overlap, but 早はやくして is a nag about finishing, while 急いそいで is a request to move faster. In writing, especially email, 急いそいで feels more neutral than 早はやく.
  • Forgetting the softening bridge. 急いそがなくていいよ is kind, but 急いそがなくていい alone in a flat tone can sound cold. Add よ, or ゆっくりで, to keep the warmth.

The strength ladder

Expression Strength Who to say it to
急いそいでください Polite request Strangers, coworkers
お急いそぎください Very polite, formal Guests, clients, announcements
急いそいで Casual request Friends, family, kids
早はやく! / 早はやくして Casual, nagging Friends, family, kids
さっさと〜 Irritated Someone you're annoyed with (avoid with people who matter)
急いそげ! Commanding, blunt Teams, subordinates, anime crowds
急いそがなくていいよ Gentle, reassuring Anyone you want to comfort
お急いそぎですか Polite question Customers (staff say this to them)

FAQ

What is the safest way to say "hurry up" in Japanese? 急いそいでください. It is polite, clear, and works with strangers and peers. For customers and clients, use お急いそぎください. If you know the person well, drop ください and just say 急いそいで.

Is 早はやく rude? Not by itself. 早はやく! is casual and pushy, fine among friends or family, but on its own it is too blunt for a stranger or someone above you. Use 早はやくしてください (still pushy) or, better, 急いそいでください.

What do you say in anime when a character wants someone to hurry? Most often 早はやく!, 早はやくして!, or 急いそげ! for a group. Villains and rivals lean on さっさと. It is the vocabulary of shouted, high-energy dialogue, which is why the whole family shows up so often.

How do you say "take your time" instead? ゆっくりでいいですよ or 急いそがなくていいよ. Both tell the other person that speed is not a concern.

Can I say お急いそぎください to someone? Yes, but it is very formal. You will hear it in announcements, like a train station asking passengers to hurry, and in customer-facing settings. Between friends, use 急いそいで.

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 3 and 4 are a pair — the same "hurry" idea aimed at opposite feelings.

1. Ask a stranger politely to hurry.

Show answer

急いそいでください — the te-form of 急いそぐ plus ください, the polite request pattern.

2. What is the te-form of 急いそぐ, and why?

Show answer

急いそいで — 急いそぐ ends in ぐ, so the te-form swaps ぐ for いで, just like 泳およぐ → 泳およいで.

3. A friend is dawdling. You want to nag them to finish. Say "Hurry up" in a casual way.

Show answer

早はやくして — 早はやく is the adverb "quickly," and して makes it a casual request for the person to get on with it.

4. The same friend is nervous and afraid of being slow. Say "You don't have to hurry."

Show answer

急いそがなくていいよ — the negative stem 急いそがな + くていい "it's fine if you don't," softened with よ. This is the kind opposite of Question 3.

5. You are shouting at a whole team in a battle. Which form fits best?

Show answer

急いそげ! — the imperative form, blunt and commanding, suited to groups and emergencies rather than polite conversation.

6. Why is 急いそいでください wrong if written as 急いそぐください?

Show answer

ください attaches to the te-form, not the dictionary form. 急いそぐください is ungrammatical; 急いそいでください is correct.

7. A shop assistant sees you glancing at your watch. What might they ask?

Show answer

お急いそぎですか — "Are you in a hurry?" It notices your situation instead of pushing you.

8. Which one carries impatience even in a polite-sounding sentence: 早はやく or さっさと?

Show answer

さっさと — aimed at a listener it signals "I've waited long enough" (it can also just mean "quickly" when describing someone else: さっさと帰かえった). 早はやく is just "quickly" and can be neutral in the right sentence.

9. How do you say "This is an urgent errand" using the noun?

Show answer

急いそぎの用事ようじです — 急いそぎ is the noun "urgency," and の links it to 用事ようじ.

10. Would you say さっさとしろ to your manager?

Show answer

No — さっさと plus the rough command しろ is irritated and rude. Use お急いそぎください or お急いそぎいただけますか with someone above you.

Say 急いそいで to a friend and お急いそぎください to a customer in a trial lesson, and learn why さっさと is not for either of them.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

急ぐ	いそぐ — to hurry
急いで	いそいで — hurry (te-form)
早く	はやく — quickly, soon
急げ	いそげ — hurry! (command)
さっさと	さっさと — quickly, without dawdling (impatient)
お急ぎ	おいそぎ — being in a hurry (polite)
急ぎ	いそぎ — urgency, hurry
用事	ようじ — errand, business
ゆっくり	ゆっくり — slowly, at ease
大丈夫	だいじょうぶ — fine, no problem

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, since every learner eventually wants to know how to say "hurry up" without sounding rude. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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