Telling Time in Japanese
To tell time in Japanese, use the counter 時 (ji) for hours and 分 (fun/pun) for minutes.
Pattern
[number] 時 [number] 分
[number] ji [number] fun/pun
| Hour | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | 一時 | ichi-ji |
| 2:00 | 二時 | ni-ji |
| 3:00 | 三時 | san-ji |
| 4:00 | 四時 | yo-ji ⚠️ |
| 5:00 | 五時 | go-ji |
| 6:00 | 六時 | roku-ji |
| 7:00 | 七時 | shichi-ji ⚠️ |
| 8:00 | 八時 | hachi-ji |
| 9:00 | 九時 | ku-ji ⚠️ |
| 10:00 | 十時 | juu-ji |
| 11:00 | 十一時 | juuichi-ji |
| 12:00 | 十二時 | juuni-ji |
Irregular Readings
Note the special readings: 4:00 is yo-ji (not yon-ji), 7:00 is shichi-ji (not nana-ji), and 9:00 is ku-ji (not kyuu-ji).
Minutes
Minutes use the counter 分, which has sound changes depending on the number.
| Minutes | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 min | 一分 | ip-pun ⚠️ |
| 2 min | 二分 | ni-fun |
| 3 min | 三分 | san-pun ⚠️ |
| 4 min | 四分 | yon-pun ⚠️ |
| 5 min | 五分 | go-fun |
| 10 min | 十分 | jup-pun ⚠️ |
| 15 min | 十五分 | juugo-fun |
| 30 min | 三十分 | sanjup-pun |
Examples
今何時ですか。
Ima nan-ji desu ka.
What time is it now?
三時十五分です。
San-ji juugo-fun desu.
It's 3:15.
From ~ To: から〜まで
Use から (kara) for "from" and まで (made) for "to/until" to express time ranges.
Pattern
[time/place] から [time/place] まで
from [X] to/until [Y]
Examples
九時から五時まで働きます。
Ku-ji kara go-ji made hatarakimasu.
I work from 9:00 to 5:00.
月曜日から金曜日まで学校があります。
Getsuyoubi kara kinyoubi made gakkou ga arimasu.
There is school from Monday to Friday.
東京から大阪まで新幹線で三時間です。
Toukyou kara Oosaka made shinkansen de san-jikan desu.
It's 3 hours from Tokyo to Osaka by bullet train.
Daily Routine Verbs
Common verbs used to describe daily activities:
| Verb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 起きます | okimasu | to wake up |
| 寝ます | nemasu | to sleep/go to bed |
| 働きます | hatarakimasu | to work |
| 休みます | yasumimasu | to rest/take a day off |
| 勉強します | benkyou shimasu | to study |
| 終わります | owarimasu | to finish/end |
| 始まります | hajimarimasu | to begin/start |
Daily Schedule Examples
毎朝六時に起きます。
Maiasa roku-ji ni okimasu.
I wake up at 6:00 every morning.
仕事は五時に終わります。
Shigoto wa go-ji ni owarimasu.
Work ends at 5:00.
十一時ごろ寝ます。
Juuichi-ji goro nemasu.
I go to bed around 11:00.
Time Particle に
Use に after specific times to indicate "at" that time. Words like ごろ (goro - around) don't need に.