そろそろ

Used exhortatively or to express impatience, implying that something should have happened or should happen now. Often in phrases like そろそろ～しよう or そろそろ～してもいい頃.

そろそろ帰かえらないと。
It's about time I went home.
もうそろそろ終おわりにしよう。
Let's wrap it up already.

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Usage patterns

そろそろ〈動どう詞し〉うit's about time to (do something); let's start doing something
そろそろ帰かえろうか。
Shall we head home soon?
そろそろ〈動どう詞し〉てくるsomething gradually starts to happen
そろそろ暗くらくなってきた。
It's gradually starting to get dark.
そろそろ〈時とき〉だit's almost time for ...
そろそろ出しゅっ発ぱつの時じ間かんだ。
It's almost time to leave.
そろそろ失しつ礼れいしますa polite way to signal it's time to leave
そろそろ失しつ礼れいします。今日きょうはありがとうございました。
I should be heading off now. Thank you for today.

Related words· 6

もうすぐN5sense 1
もうすぐ simply announces that something will happen soon, while そろそろ adds a nuance of 'the right moment is approaching' or subtle urging.
ゆっくりN5sense 2
ゆっくり means 'slowly' in a general, relaxed sense, while そろそろ (sense 2) suggests a quiet, gradual, almost cautious slowness, often of onset or approach.
やがてN3sense 1
やがて is a more literary way to say 'before long', whereas そろそろ is conversational and often implies it's time to act.
ぼつぼつN1
そろそろ is the standard word for signaling it's time to do something soon, while ぼつぼつ conveys the same idea more casually with a sense of natural drift toward the event.

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ぼちぼちN1
そろそろ signals a more definite, imminent timing for an action, while ぼちぼち keeps a looser, more casual sense of 'soon'.
もうじきN1
そろそろ often signals it's time to start doing something now, while もうじき points to an event arriving on its own.

Opposites

急きゅうにN4sense 2
急に describes something happening suddenly and abruptly, the opposite of そろそろ's gradual, quiet manner.

Written forms

そろそろUsage99%
Standard hiragana spelling; the most common written form.
ソロソロUsage1%
Katakana variant, often used for emphasis or in informal writing.

Etymology

An onomatopoeic or mimetic word (擬態語). The exact origin is uncertain, but it likely derives from the reduplicated sound-symbolic root そろ, which evokes a sense of quiet, gradual movement or the approach of a moment.