A: Excuse me. Can you take a look at the numbers?
B: Sorry. I’m tied up at the moment. Can it wait?
A: Sure. I’ll come back later.
B: Thank you.
In this situation, what should you say ‘Can it wait?’ in Japanese?
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B：後でもいいですか？
Note: This is not a word-for-word translation.
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A word-for-word translation
B：それは待てますか？
It’s grammatically correct.
But we don’t usually use it because it sounds a bit unnatural.
Instead, we often use 後でもいいですか？.
It means ‘Is it OK if I do it later?’
If you want to use a phrase similar to a direct translation, you can say 待っていただけますか？.
But sometimes, this expression can make a cold impression on the other person because it’s too direct.
So I recommend 後でもいいですか？.
The following are more Japanese-like expressions.
These are expressions that don’t directly ask the other person to wait.
Instead, you expect them to understand what you want by confirming their situation.
急ぎかな？
Are you in a hurry?すぐ必要そうですか？
Do you need it right away?今じゃないとダメそう？
Do I have to do it now?
Kotoba no Hibiki 