Posted by flint over 2 years ago
In this lesson we will learn about the counters for time(時、分、秒).
The ~時「~じ」counter is used to measure time in hours, or the hour of the day.
Note on pronunciation
The 分「ふん」counter is used to measure time in minutes.
* 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) .
The 秒「びょう」counter is used to measure time in seconds.
There are no special pronunciation rules for ~秒.
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.
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」
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.
When it is clear from the context, this can be omitted.
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!
When talking about a period of time, the suffix ~間「~かん」is added to clearly distinguish it from the time of the day.
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