This means you are doing something right now. You are in the middle of an action.
Verb [て-form] + いる + ところPrimary
This means you are doing something right now. You are in the middle of an action.
ごめん、今、ご飯を食べているところなんだ。
Sorry, I'm in the middle of eating right now.
お電話いただいた時、ちょうど会議の準備をしているところでした。
When you called, I was right in the middle of preparing for the meeting.
今、大事な話をしているところだから、邪魔しないでください。
We're in the middle of an important conversation right now, so please don't interrupt.
犯人が逃げているところを、警察官が捕まえた。
A police officer caught the criminal just as he was running away.
はい、ただいま資料を確認しているところです。少々お待ちください。
Yes, I'm just confirming the documents now. Please wait a moment.
This form shows you are doing something right now. It is like a live photo of an action. It tells people you are busy with that action.
This is different from "~saichuu ni". "~te iru tokoro" means you are doing something right now. "~saichuu ni" means something happened while you were doing something else. "~saichuu ni" is also more formal.
Don't use this when talking about things you do often. For example, don't say "I am jogging every day right now."
Track your mastery
Kumi's KMT system tracks your mastery across kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and reading. Create a free account to use it on 220,000+ concepts.