部長：今日中にこのレポート、完成させてくださいね。
石井：えっ、今日中ですか。それはちょっと無理がありますね。
Muri ga aru
Bucho: Kyoo-juu ni kono repooto, kansei sasete kudasai ne.
Ishii: E', kyoo-juu desu ka. Sore wa chotto muri ga arimasu ne.
Boss: Have this report finished by the end of the day, will you.
Ishii: What! Today? That's a bit unreasonable.
Muri ga aru means unreasonable, unrealistic, asking too much.
Let's look at how the conversation above might continue. First, the boss could compromise by saying, "Well, how about by tomorrow evening?" Then Ishii might reply with something like, Sono hoo ga muriga arimasen ne (That's more reasonable).
Japanese is a notoriously vague language. When asked to do something, it's often too direct to answer simply, Sore wa muri desu (That's out of the question) , especially when the person you are talking to is more important than you, like Ishii's boss in the conversation.
However, by adding chotto it becomes less abrupt, and by changing the expression to muriga aru, it begins to sound more like a logical argument.
Let's say you're arranging a company trip, which you're in the process of discussing with a travel agent. You have a group of 20 people who want to stay in Kyoto for one night, and since it's a company trip, you'll want to have an evening meal in a large party room.
Your budget is about \30,000 per person. With the economy being in the state it is, the travel agent obviously wants to get as many bookings as possible, but Ofuku no ryohi to shukuhakuhi de hitori san-man-en de wa amari ni muri ga am (With the cost of transportation and accommodation \3O,000 a head is unrealistic).
Moo sukoshi muri no naiyosan ni henkoo dekinai daroo ka (Is there no way you could manage a more reasonable budget?) This is when the travel agent begins to make his move. Anoo, sono gaku de wa amari ni muri ga arimasu ne (That price is asking more than I can reasonably do for you, I'm afraid). San-man-go-sen-en nara muriga nai n'desuga... (But we might be able to manage something for ･35,000). This is an example of how we might hear this expression in the context of budgets and money. Let's look at another example, in a different context.
The phone rings. Ifs your boss on the line. "We need someone to go on a business trip to Hokkaido. Can you take a plane this evening?" If you were happily
relaxing at home, you'd be completely dumbstruck. Ikura nan de mo, muri ga arimasu yo (That really is unreasonable). In Japanese we call this, Murinandai wo oshitsukerareru (Being asked too much).