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Reading the time and time related counters(時、分、秒)

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Reading the time and time related counters(時、分、秒)

Posted by flint over 2 years ago

In this lesson we will learn about the counters for time(時、分、秒).

Counter for hours(時)

The ~時「~じ」counter is used to measure time in hours, or the hour of the day.

Note on pronunciation

  • 四時 is pronounced「よ・じ」
  • 七時 is more commonly pronounced「しち・じ」, rather than 「なな・じ」
  • 九時 is pronounced「く・じ」

Counter for minutes(分)

The 分「ふん」counter is used to measure time in minutes.

Note on pronunciation

  • 一分 is pronounced「いっ・ぷん」
  • 三分 is pronounced「さん・ぷん」or「さん・ふん」
  • 四分 is pronounced 「よん・ぷん」or「よん・ふん」
  • 六分 is pronounced「ろっ・ぷん」
  • 八分 is pronounced「はっ・ぷん」or「はち・ふん」
  • 十分 is pronounced「じゅっ・ぷん」or「じっ・ぴん」
  • 百分 is pronounced「ひゃっ・ぷん」
  • 千分 is pronounced「せん・ぷん」or「せん・ふん」
  • 一万分 is pronounced「いち・まん・ぷん」or「いち・まん・ふん」

* For 三分、四分、千分 and 一万分 the correct pronounciation of 分 is「ぷん」. The「ふん」pronounciation is a common mispronounciation. For further reading see https://jocr.jp/raditopi/2021/08/26/389228/ (Japanese) .

Counter for seconds(秒)

The 秒「びょう」counter is used to measure time in seconds.

Note on pronunciation

There are no special pronunciation rules for ~秒.

Talking about the time of the day

Talking about the time of the day is pretty simple, just say what hour of the day it is, followed by the number of minutes that have past if necessary. When writing the time, it is common to use arabic numerals instead of Kanji.

  • 6 o'clock is 6時 or 六時「ろく・じ」
  • 9:15 is 9時15分 or 九時十五分「く・じ・じゅう・ご・ふん」

For half past the hour, you can use the Kanji for a half, 半「はん」, instead of saying 30分「さん・じゅっ・ぷん」

  • 10:30 is 10時半「じゅう・じ・はん」

To state whether the time is in the morning or afternoon (ie, a.m. or p.m.), you can use the words 午前「ご・ぜん」 or 午後「ご・ご」 before stating the time.

  • 午前6時「ご・ぜん・ろく・じ」is 6:00am
  • 午後9時「ご・ご・く・じ」is 9:00pm

When it is clear from the context, this can be omitted.

  • 6時・に・晩ご飯・を・食べます。
    I eat dinner at 6 o'clock.

Military time (24 hour time) is also commonly used, especially on time-tables and tv guides.  You may even see hours beyond 24 being used to express the time of day!

  • 21時「に・じゅう・いち・じ」is 9:00pm
  • 26時「に・じゅう・ろく・じ」is 2:00am (the following day).

Talking about a period of time(~間)

When talking about a period of time, the suffix ~間「~かん」is added to clearly distinguish it from the time of the day.

  • 一時間「いち・じ・かん」means a period of one hour.
  • 五分間「ご・ふん・かん」means a period of five minutes.
  • 一時間半「いち・じ・かん・はん」means for a period of one and a half hours.

Counters

Romaji Hide|Display Default

Counter for hours(時)

ichiji
  1. one o'clock; 1 o'clock
  2. one hour; 1 hour
niji
  1. two o'clock; 2 o'clock
  2. two hours; 2 hours
sanji
  1. three o'clock; 3 o'clock
  2. three hours; 3 hours
yoji
  1. four o'clock; 4 o'clock
  2. four hours; 4 hours
goji
  1. five o'clock; 5 o'clock
  2. five hours; 5 hours
rokuji
  1. six o'clock; 6 o'clock
  2. six hours; 6 hours
shichiji
nanaji
  1. seven o'clock; 7 o'clock
  2. seven hours; 7 hours
hachiji
  1. eight o'clock; 8 o'clock
  2. eight hours; 8 hours
kuji
  1. nine o'clock; 9 o'clock
  2. nine hours; 9 hours
juuji
  1. ten o'clock; 10 o'clock
  2. ten hours; 10 hours
hyakuji
  1. one hundred hours; 100 hours
senji
  1. one thousand hours; 1,000 hours
ichimanji
  1. ten thousand hours; 10,000 hours

Vocabulary

Romaji Hide|Display Default|Add to ▼
jikan
noun
  1. time
  2. hour
  3. period
gozen
noun, adverb
  1. morning; a.m.
gogo
noun, adverb
  1. afternoon; p.m.
han
noun, noun, used as a prefix
  1. half
noun, noun, used as a suffix
  1. half-past
kan
noun, suffix
  1. interval; period of time
shougo
noun, adverb
  1. noon; midday
yoru
noun, adverb
  1. evening; night
ban
noun, adverb
  1. evening; night
mayonaka
noun, adverb
  1. dead of night; midnight
shinya
noun, adverb
  1. late at night

Kanji

Display Default|Add to ▼
Stroke Count
4 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. in, inside, middle, mean, center
Readings
Kun'yomi: なか、うち、あた.る。
On'yomi: チュウ、ジュウ。
Stroke Count
4 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. part, minute of time, segment, share, degree, one's lot, duty, understand, know, rate, 1%, chances, shaku/100
Readings
Kun'yomi: わ.け、わ.かつ、わ.かる、わ.ける、わ.かれる。
On'yomi: ブ、フン、ブン。
Stroke Count
4 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. noon, sign of the horse, 11AM-1PM, seventh sign of Chinese zodiac
Readings
Kun'yomi: うま。
On'yomi: ゴ。
Stroke Count
5 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. half, middle, odd number, semi-, part-
Readings
Kun'yomi: なか.ば、は。
On'yomi: ハン。
Stroke Count
9 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. in front, before
Readings
Kun'yomi: まえ、さき、-まえ。
On'yomi: ゼン、セン。
Stroke Count
9 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. behind, back, later
Readings
Kun'yomi: うし.ろ、おく.れる、のち、あと、うしろ。
On'yomi: グ、コウ、ゴ。
Stroke Count
10 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. time, hour
Readings
Kun'yomi: とき、-どき。
On'yomi: ジ、シ。
Stroke Count
12 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. interval, space
Readings
Kun'yomi: あいだ、ま、あい。
On'yomi: ケン、カン。
Stroke Count
5 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. correct, justice, righteous, 10**40
Readings
Kun'yomi: ただ.しい、ただ.す、まさ.に、まさ。
On'yomi: ショウ、セイ。
Stroke Count
8 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. night, evening
Readings
Kun'yomi: よ、よる。
On'yomi: ヤ。
Stroke Count
9 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. daytime, noon
Readings
Kun'yomi: ひる。
On'yomi: チュウ。
Stroke Count
10 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. true, reality, Buddhist sect
Readings
Kun'yomi: ま、まこと、ま-。
On'yomi: しん、シン。
Stroke Count
12 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. morning, dynasty, regime, epoch, period, (North) Korea
Readings
Kun'yomi: あさ。
On'yomi: チョウ、ジョウ。
Stroke Count
11 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. deep, heighten, intensify, strengthen
Readings
Kun'yomi: ふか.い、-ぶか.い、み-、ふか.まる、ふか.める。
On'yomi: シン。
Stroke Count
12 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. nightfall, night
Readings
On'yomi: モン、バン。
Stroke Count
9 Strokes
English Meaning
  1. second (1/60 minute)
Readings
On'yomi: ミョウ、ビョウ。

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