Quick Reference

Meaning & Definition

Walk into any izakaya in Japan with a group of friends, and before anyone even opens the menu, someone calls out toriaezu biiru — a beer to start. とりあえず is the word behind that reflex: the everyday way of saying (let’s just start with this for now) before committing to anything more permanent.

とりあえず is an adverb meaning (for the time being), (first of all), or (anyway), used whenever a speaker wants to make a quick, provisional move without locking in a final decision. Three overlapping senses cover most uses. (1) For the time being / provisionally: toriaezu kore de yousu wo miru (for now, let’s go with this and see how it goes) treats the choice as temporary and open to change later. (2) First of all / as an immediate first step: toriaezu suwatte (go ahead and sit down first) sequences one small action before anything else happens. (3) Anyway / without further ado, brushing past the details to get moving: this is the sense behind the famous izakaya order toriaezu biiru (a beer to start — we’ll sort out the rest of the order after). In every case, とりあえず signals (this is a placeholder choice, not my final answer), which is what makes it so handy for softening commitment or buying time to think. In fast typed chat it is often clipped to the slang form torima, keeping the same (for now / whatever) feeling in a shorter, more casual package.

How to Use It

The single most useful phrase to memorize is toriaezu biiru — in an izakaya, saying just those two words is a complete, perfectly normal drink order, with the food decided afterward. Remember that とりあえず always frames a choice as provisional rather than final: it announces (this will do for now), so pairing it with a decision meant to be genuinely permanent can sound off. Learners sometimes confuse it with mazu (firstly), but the two aren’t interchangeable: mazu simply orders steps in a sequence (first this, then that), while とりあえず adds the extra nuance of (for now, as a stopgap, without deciding everything yet). In texting or on social media, とりあえず frequently shrinks to the casual clip torima. Because the word is built to defer commitment, leaning on it too heavily in serious conversations — job interviews, formal proposals — can come across as noncommittal or indecisive, so native speakers save heavy use for casual, low-stakes moments.

Example Sentences

Cultural Context

The custom of toriaezu biiru is one of the most recognizable rituals of izakaya culture. When a group sits down, deciding on everyone’s individual drink preferences would slow the evening down, so the group defaults to a single, uniform order — beer for the table — precisely because とりあえず frames it as a starting point rather than anyone’s true final choice. It lets the group raise a toast (kanpai) together within minutes of sitting down, with more personal drink and food choices worked out once everyone has settled in.

More broadly, とりあえず reflects a practical, for-now decision style that shows up across Japanese daily life and communication, not just at the izakaya table. Choosing a provisional answer, sending a quick preliminary update, or taking a small first step while leaving the bigger decision for later is treated as perfectly normal and even courteous — it keeps things moving without forcing anyone to commit prematurely. In a culture that often values consensus and careful follow-through, having a word dedicated entirely to (this is fine for now) is genuinely useful, and とりあえず is the word that fills that role in conversation after conversation.

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