あと〜 details
another; N more; N to go — the amount still between here and the finish
あと五分で着くから、先に入ってて。
ato gofun de tsuku kara, saki ni haittete.
I'll be there in five more minutes, so go on in. casual
参加者はあと一人で定員に達します。
sankasha wa ato hitori de teiin ni tasshimasu.
One more participant and we reach the limit. neutral
- alternant
- colloquial
Examples
N more; N to go — the amount still needed, or still remaining, before the goal or the moment arrives
あと五分で着くから、先に入ってて。
ato gofun de tsuku kara, saki ni haittete.
I'll be there in five more minutes, so go on in. casual
参加者はあと一人で定員に達します。
sankasha wa ato hitori de teiin ni tasshimasu.
One more participant and we reach the limit. neutral
締め切りまであと三日しかありません。
shimekiri made ato mikka shika arimasen.
There are only three days left until the deadline. neutral
あとちょっとだね。ここまで来たら最後までやろう。
ato chotto da ne. koko made kitara saigo made yarou.
Almost there. Now that we've come this far, let's see it through. casual
Formation
あと{Q}attaches to number + counter
Variant notes
- あと少し — for an amount too small or too vague to count — あと少しで頂上だ; 少し can be swapped for ちょっと in speech.
- あとちょっと — the spoken shape of あと少し, and the usual cry of encouragement — あとちょっとだ、がんばれ。
Notes
あと少し. Bare あと at the head of a sentence is instead the casual
"and also" (あと、牛乳も買ってきて), which それと covers.
Related patterns
Similar
もう一度 adds a fresh repetition with no end in sight; あと一度 only works when a total is already fixed, and says how much of it is left — which is why a coach shouts あと一回！ at the last rep and もう一回！ when adding one.
少し measures a small amount on its own (少し待って), while あと少し measures the same amount against a goal already in sight, so it carries the encouragement that the end is close.
までに names the deadline itself and needs a date or an event (五時までに); あと＋quantity names the distance to it from now, so it moves as time passes and cannot appear on a printed schedule.
Lookalikes
Same あと, and what follows it decides the meaning — a quantity makes it the amount still to go (あと五分 "five minutes left"), while で makes it a point in time (あとで "later on"), so あと五分で and あとで sit at opposite ends of the clock.