Time and change

These words describe time on a larger scale than the clock and the calendar: periods, stages, before and after, and the way things change. Many are formal compounds that stand in for everyday words in writing and announcements — 現在(げんざい) for 今(いま), 今後(こんご) for これから — and both need to be recognised. Words for gradual change, such as 次第(しだい)に, usually come with 〜てくる or 〜ていく, which add the direction in time that English leaves to context.