やっと
yatto
The moment you just barely crest the hill
The picture A cart pushed uphill for a long time tipping over the crest at last, as the shoulders go slack. やっと gets over only after a long haul; すぐ arrives with no gap at all.
Where the picture shows up in やっと
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over the top at last
工事がやっと終わりました。
kou-ji ga ya-tto o-wa-ri-ma-shi-ta
The construction work is finally done.
Hoarding that stood for months comes down and the street appears again
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only just arrived
道が混んでいて、やっと着きました。
mi-chi ga kon-de i-te, ya-tto tsu-ki-ma-shi-ta
The traffic was bad — I only just got here.
Pushing through the door, breathing hard, wiping the forehead
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made it by a hair
走って、やっと間に合いました。
ha-shi-tte, ya-tto ma ni a-i-ma-shi-ta
I ran and only just made it in time.
The hand catches the door handle the very instant the clock hand touches the hour
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the body just over
手術のあと、やっと歩けるようになりました。
shu-ju-tsu no a-to, ya-tto a-ru-ke-ru you ni na-ri-ma-shi-ta
After the operation I can finally walk again.
Gripping the bed rail and setting one foot down flat on the floor
Paired with ~ようになる it speaks of recovery.
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scraping by
この給料で、やっと生活しています。
ko-no kyuu-ryou de, ya-tto sei-ka-tsu shi-te i-ma-su
I'm barely getting by on this salary.
The cash out of the envelope lies exactly over the bills with not one note left over
Not short, but nothing spare either.
All of it in one picture
やっと is the instant a long push finally clears the crest. When the building work clears it, it is finally over; when the jammed road is cleared, you only just arrived. Clearing the clock by a hair is making it just in time, clearing the floor with one foot after surgery is walking again at last, and a salary that just clears the bills is scraping by. It does not speak of speed — it speaks of the weight of effort spent.