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How to Say ‘Is taking time’ in Japanese

がかかっています

ga kakatsu te i masu

[gah kah-kaht teh ee mahss]

💬 Usage Tip: [かかっています] means “is taking” or “is requiring.” With [時間が], it means something is taking time.

🇯🇵 In Japan: This is a useful soft expression in Japanese workplaces because it explains delay without sounding too harsh.

Phrase Breakdown

が

ga

[gah]

subject marker

A particle that marks the subject of the sentence.

Example

雨が降っています。

It is raining.

かかって

kakatsu te

being applied / being received / hanging

Part of the verb かかる in te-form, used before います for an ongoing state.

Example

電話がかかっています。

The phone is ringing.

Words in this phrase

かかっ

kakatsu

[kah-kaht]

is taking; is costing

From かかる, this stem shows that something takes time, effort, or money.

Example

この作業は時間がかかっています。

This task is taking time.

て

te

[teh]

and; -te form connector

The て form connects verbs and is also used in progressive forms like ています.

Example

資料を見て考えます。

I will look at the materials and think.

います

i masu

is / are (polite)

Polite ending that indicates an ongoing action or state.

Example

電話がかかっています。

The phone is ringing.

Words in this phrase

い

i

[ee]

to be; ongoing state

Part of ています, showing an ongoing action or resulting state.

Example

今、説明を聞いています。

I am listening to the explanation now.

ます

masu

[mahss]

polite ending

A polite verb ending used in formal everyday speech.

Example

毎日報告します。

I report every day.

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