How to Say ‘It isn’t moving forward.’ in Japanese
進まない。
susuma nai
[soo-soo-mah nah-ee]
💬 Usage Tip: [進まない] is the negative form of [進む], “to move forward” or “to progress.” It can describe work, plans, or discussions.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese often talks about projects as if they physically move. If they do not, [進まない] is the go-to phrase.
Phrase Breakdown
進ま
susuma
[soo-soo-mah]
advance; proceed
From 進む, meaning to move forward or make progress.
話がなかなか進まない。
The discussion does not move forward easily.
ない
nai
[nah-ee]
not
A negative ending for verbs and adjectives in plain form.
今日はうまくいかない。
It is not going well today.
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