Daily Life • Times

⏰ Times - じjiかkaんn

Telling time in Japanese is essential for daily conversation! You'll learn how to express hours, minutes, and ask "What time is it?" The word for time is じjiかkaんn, and times follow a clear pattern once you understand the basics.

Time Formula!

Japanese time follows this pattern: [Hour] じji + [Minutes] ふfuんn//ぷpuんn. Just like saying "3 o'clock 30 minutes" in English!

🕐 Hours - ～～じji

The word じji means "o'clock" and comes after the number. Most hours follow regular number patterns, but watch out for special pronunciations!

📐 Pattern: [Number] + じji

Examples: いiちchi + じji =いiちchiじji (1 o'clock)

Japanese	Romaji	English	Note
いちじ	ichiji	1 o'clock	Regular
にじ	niji	2 o'clock	Regular
さんじ	sanji	3 o'clock	Regular
よじ	yoji	4 o'clock	Special (not よんじ)
ごじ	goji	5 o'clock	Regular
ろくじ	rokuji	6 o'clock	Regular
しちじ	shichiji	7 o'clock	Special (not ななじ)
はちじ	hachiji	8 o'clock	Regular
くじ	kuji	9 o'clock	Special (not きゅうじ)
じゅうじ	juuji	10 o'clock	Regular
じゅういちじ	juuichiji	11 o'clock	Regular
じゅうにじ	juuniji	12 o'clock	Regular

⚠️ Special Hour Pronunciations:

4 o'clock:

よyoじji (NOT よyoんnじji)

7 o'clock:

しshiちchiじji (NOT なnaなnaじji)

9 o'clock:

くkuじji (NOT きkiゅyuうuじji)

⏱️

⏱️ Minutes - ふfuんn / ぷpuんn

Minutes use either ふfuんn or ぷpuんn. The pronunciation changes based on the number, and some numbers get doubled consonants for smoother pronunciation.

📋 Pronunciation Rules:

Use ふfuんn:

• 2, 5, 7, 9 minutes
• Most compound numbers ending in these

Use ぷpuんn:

• 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10 minutes
• Often with doubled consonants (っ)

Japanese	Romaji	English	Pattern
いっぷん	ippun	1 minute	いち → いっ + ぷん
にふん	nifun	2 minutes	に + ふん
さんぷん	sanpun	3 minutes	さん + ぷん
よんぷん	yonpun	4 minutes	よん + ぷん
ごふん	gofun	5 minutes	ご + ふん
ろっぷん	roppun	6 minutes	ろく → ろっ + ぷん
ななふん	nanafun	7 minutes	なな + ふん
はっぷん	happun	8 minutes	はち → はっ + ぷん
きゅうふん	kyuufun	9 minutes	きゅう + ふん
じゅっぷん	juppun	10 minutes	じゅう → じゅっ + ぷん

💡 Memory Tip for Minutes:

Notice the pattern: numbers ending in hard consonants (1, 6, 8, 10) get a small っ (tsu) to make pronunciation smoother. It's like adding a pause before "pun"!

🧭

🕐 Complete Time Examples

Now let's put hours and minutes together! Japanese time follows the pattern: Hour + Minutes, just like saying "3 o'clock 25 minutes" in English.

🎯 Time Structure:

[Hour]じji + [Minutes]ふfuんn//ぷpuんn

Example: さsaんnじji + にniじjiゅyuうuごgoふfuんn = 3:25

Time	Japanese	Romaji	Breakdown
1:00	いちじ	ichiji	いちじ (just the hour)
2:30	にじさんじゅっぷん	niji sanjuppun	にじ + さんじゅっぷん
3:15	さんじじゅうごふん	sanji juugofun	さんじ + じゅうごふん
4:45	よじよんじゅうごふん	yoji yonjuugofun	よじ + よんじゅうごふん
5:50	ごじごじゅっぷん	goji gojuppun	ごじ + ごじゅっぷん
6:05	ろくじごふん	rokuji gofun	ろくじ + ごふん
7:20	しちじにじゅっぷん	shichiji nijuppun	しちじ + にじゅっぷん

🕰️

🕰️ Special Case: Half Hour - はhaんn

For 30 minutes, Japanese has a special word: はhaんn (han), meaning "half." This is much easier than saying さsaんnじjiゅyuっっぷpuんn!

✨ The はん Shortcut:

✅ Easy way:

さsaんnじjiはhaんn (3:30)

📚 Long way:

さsaんnじjiさsaんnじjiゅyuっっぷpuんn (3:30)

Time	Japanese (with はん)	Romaji	English
1:30	いちじはん	ichiji han	half past one
3:30	さんじはん	sanji han	half past three
5:30	ごじはん	goji han	half past five
8:30	はちじはん	hachiji han	half past eight
10:30	じゅうじはん	juuji han	half past ten

🌅 A.M. and P.M. - Morning and Afternoon

Just like English A.M. and P.M., Japanese has ごgoぜzeんnfor morning (A.M.) and ごgoごgo for afternoon/evening (P.M.). These go BEFORE the time.

📅 Time Period Structure:

ごgoぜzeんn//ごgoごgo + [Hour]じji + [Minutes]ふfuんn//ぷpuんn

Example: ごgoぜzeんn + はhaちchiじji = 8:00 A.M.

🌅 Morning - ごgoぜzeんn

• Used for times from midnight to noon

• Literally means "before noon"

• Goes before the time

🌆 Afternoon/Evening - ごgoごgo

• Used for times from noon to midnight

• Literally means "after noon"

• Goes before the time

Time	Japanese	Romaji	Period
8:00 A.M.	ごぜんはちじ	gozen hachiji	Morning
10:30 A.M.	ごぜんじゅうじはん	gozen juuji han	Morning
1:30 P.M.	ごごいちじはん	gogo ichiji han	Afternoon
3:15 P.M.	ごごさんじじゅうごふん	gogo sanji juugofun	Afternoon
6:45 P.M.	ごごろくじよんじゅうごふん	gogo rokuji yonjuugofun	Evening
9:20 P.M.	ごごくじにじゅっぷん	gogo kuji nijuppun	Evening

🌅 Special Terms for Noon and Midnight:

12:00 Noon:

しshiょyoうuごgo

12:00 Midnight:

まmaよyoなnaかka

❓ Asking "What time is it?" - なnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？?

The most important time question! なnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？?means "What time is it?" You can also add いiまma (now) to make it "What time is it now?"

💬 Question Patterns:

Basic question:

なnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？? (What time is it?)

With "now":

いiまmaなnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？? (What time is it now?)

Question	Answer	Romaji	English
なnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？?	いちじです。	ichiji desu.	It's 1 o'clock.
なnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？?	さんじはんです。	sanji han desu.	It's 3:30.
いiまmaなnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？?	ごごろくじです。	gogo rokuji desu.	It's 6 P.M. now.
いiまmaなnaんnじjiでdeすsuかka？?	ごぜんくじじゅうごふんです。	gozen kuji juugofun desu.	It's 9:15 A.M. now.

Time to Practice!

Remember to add でdeすsu at the end of your time answer to be polite! さsaんnじjiでdeすsu (It's 3 o'clock) is much more polite than just さsaんnじji.

💡 Study Tips & Common Mistakes

✅ Study Tips:

• Practice with your daily schedule
• Start with hours only, then add minutes
• Use はhaんn for 30 minutes - it's easier!
• Remember the special hours: 4, 7, 9
• Practice asking the time every hour

⚠️ Common Mistakes:

❌ Wrong:

よyoんnじji (4 o'clock)

✅ Right:

よyoじji (4 o'clock)

❌ Wrong:

Putting ごgoぜzeんn after the time

✅ Right:

ごgoぜzeんn comes BEFORE the time

Practice Makes Perfect!

Don't try to memorize everything at once. Master hours first, then add minutes, then A.M./P.M. Practice with real times from your daily life!

Practice Quiz

Test your knowledge of telling time in Japanese!

Days Practice