The meaning of やっと


I read in some sentences やっと has several meanings like 'finally, & just'. I'm
curious about the differences between them. Because when I substitute the
sentence that have 'finally' meaning with 'just' meaning, it makes sense.

For example from the sentence that I found:

> その仕事はやっと手離れした。  
>  I just finished that work. (The meaning that I found in dictionary in
> weblio)

But when I translate it to: I finally finished that work.

It also makes sense.

Does anyone know the differences between this and how the Japanese language
learner can identify it?




やっと is an interesting word. It has elements of both finally and just in its
meaning. I think there is actually a better translation for it though. やっと
according to jisho.org is [translated
as](http://jisho.org/word/%E3%82%84%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A8) `at last; at length.` I
like these translations better because it gives a sense that your task has
taken a lot of time, or that it has taken a significant amount of time longer
than you expected.

> リポートを書きました。(I wrote my paper)
>
> リポートをやっと書きました。(At last, I wrote my paper.)

Jisho.org also translates やっと as `barely; narrowly; just; by the skin of one's
teeth​.` In the example sentence above we could also apply that meaning as
well, and get something to the effect of:

> I was barely able to write my paper.

* * *

You will find that the translation will vary with context. I'll give an
example.

> A:リポート書いた？ (Did you write your report?)
>
> B:うん、先週書くつもりだったけど、昨日、 **やっと** 終わったよ。 (Yes, I was supposed to write it last
> week, but I was finally able to finish it yesterday.)

Person B in this case is using the first definition, `at length; at last.` We
can tell this because it took longer than he/she expected.

Lets continue this interaction between these two people, but two weeks down
the road.

**Two weeks later...**

> B: お前もリポート **やっと** 書き始めたんだ？ (#1) (Have you finally started writing your
> report?)
>
> A: いや、まだ。だって、このクラスあんまり好きじゃないし。(Nope. Actually, I really don't like this
> class.)
>
> B: でも、明日までには書かないと。宿題をやらないと、先生に… (But, you have until tomorrow to write it.
> If you don't do your homework the professor will...)
>
> A: 分かってるよ！今晩、書くつもり。(I know, stop reminding me! I'm planning on writing it
> tonight)

**The next day...**

> A: やばかったけど、おかげで **やっと** 書けた。(#2) (It was tight, but thanks to your help, I
> barely finished writing the report in the neck of time.)
>
> B: よかった。(Good for you.)

(#1) In the example above is still the first definition. `Have you *finally*
started writing your report?` I used finally here because it sounds more
natural in English than the direct translation, which is `Have you started
writing your report at last?` We use this translation because it has taken
person A a long time to get started writing his report.

(#2) In this example, we get the second definition. `I cut it close, but
thanks to you I was just barely able to finish the report in the neck of
time.`

* * *

To put it simply, you use やっと when something has taken a long time ( _finally_
), or when you were cutting things close ( _just barely_ ).

