A: You look busy. Can I help you?
B: Thank you, but it’s OK because I can say for certain when I’m done.
A: OK, do your best! When is the deadline?
B: By the end of today.
In this situation, what should you say ‘I can say for certain when I’m done.’ in Japanese?
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B：ありがとうございます。でも、目途が立っているので大丈夫です。
Note: This is not a word-for-word translation.
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A word-for-word translation
B：でも、いつ終わるかはっきりわかっているので大丈夫です。
It’s grammatically correct, but we don’t usually say that.
We usually say 目途が立つ.
目途 means ‘goal’ and 立つ means ‘stand’ or can mean ‘put up’ in this context.
Imagine the pole as the finish line of a race is put up and you can see it.
In this situation, you can estimate the time it will take to reach the pole.
So, 目途が立つ indicates the situation where you can say when you’re done.
We also use the following expressions for ‘I can say for certain when I’m done,’
見通しが立っている
終わりが見えている
目途がつく
