Ordspår21.06 Time
Seconds
| Numbers | Romaji | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ichi byou | |
| 2 | ni byou | |
| 3 | san byou | |
| 4 | yon byou | (“shi” is not used for 4) |
| 5 | go byou | |
| 6 | roku byou | |
| 7 | nana byou | |
| 8 | hachi byou | |
| 9 | kyuu byou | (“ku” is not used for 9) |
| 10 | ju byou | |
| 11 | juichi byou | Combine “juu” with the number |
| 12 | juuni byou | |
| 13 | juusan byou | |
| 14 | juuyon byou | |
| 15 | juugo byou | |
| 16 | juuroku byou | |
| 17 | juunana byou | |
| 18 | juuhachi byou | |
| 19 | juukyuu byou | |
| 20 | nijyuu byou | Use kanji numerals for tens digit + “byou” |
| 24 | nijuu yon byou | |
| 59 | gojuu kyuu byou |
Minutes
| Numbers | Romaji (Standard) | Romaji (Alternative) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ippun | - |
| 2 | nifun | - |
| 3 | sanpun | sanfun |
| 4 | yonpun | yonfun |
| 5 | gofun | - |
| 6 | roppun | - |
| 7 | nanafun | - |
| 8 | happun | hachifun |
| 9 | kyuufun | - |
| 10 | juppun | - |
| 11 | juuippun | - |
| 12 | juunifun | - |
| 13 | juusanpun | juusanfun |
| 14 | juuyonpun | juuyonfun |
| 15 | juu gofun | - |
| 16 | juuroppun | - |
| 17 | juunanafun | - |
| 18 | juuhappun | juuhachifun |
| 19 | juukyuufun | - |
| 20 | nijuuppun | - |
| 24 | nijuu yonpun | nijuu yonfun |
| 59 | gojuu kyuufun | - |
Hours
Hour time:
| Numbers | Romaji (Standard) | Romaji (Alternative) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ichiji | - |
| 2 | niji | - |
| 3 | sanji | - |
| 4 | yoji | - |
| 5 | goji | - |
| 6 | rokuji | - |
| 7 | shichiji | nanaji |
| 8 | hachiji | - |
| 9 | kuji | - |
| 10 | juuji | - |
| 11 | juuichiji | - |
| 12 | juuniji | - |
Hour duration:
| Numbers | Romaji |
|---|---|
| 1 | ichijikan |
| 2 | nijikan |
| 3 | sanjikan |
| 4 | yojikan |
| 5 | gojikan |
| 6 | rokujikan |
| 7 | shichijikan, nanajikan |
| 8 | hachijikan |
| 9 | kujikan |
| 10 | juujikan |
| 11 | juuichijikan |
| 12 | juunijikan |
| 13 | juusanjikan |
| 14 | juuyojikan |
| 15 | juugojikan |
| 16 | juurokujikan |
| 17 | juushichijikan, juunanajikan |
| 18 | juuhachijikan |
| 19 | juukujikan |
| 20 | nijuu jikan |
| 24 | nijuu yojikan |
Notes:
- The pronunciation of the numbers is the same as for “hour” in time of day.
- “4” is pronounced “yo” and “9” is pronounced “ku”.
- The following are not correct: “shijikan”, “yonjikan”, “kyuujikan”.
Telling Time
| Time | Romaji |
|---|---|
| 1:09 | ichiji kyuu fun |
| 2:27 | niji ni juu nana fun |
| 3:35 | sanji san juu go fun |
| 4:52 | yoji go juu ni fun |
| 6:18 | rokuji juu hachi fun |
| 7:43 | shichiji yon juu san pun |
| 8:46 | hachiji yon juu roku pun |
| 9:01 | kuji ip pun |
| 12:30 | juuni ji san juu pun, juuni ji han |
Half
「半（はん）」は「half」という意味です。 (Han means “half”)
| Time | Reading | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5秒 | れいてんごびょう (rei ten go byou - 0.5 seconds) | |
| 1分半（いっぷんはん） | いっぷん＋30びょう (ippun han - 1 and a half minutes) | 90秒 (kyuu juu byou - 90 seconds) |
| 2時間半（にじかんはん） | にじかん＋30ふん (ni jikan han - 2 and a half hours) | 150分 (hyaku go juu pun - 150 minutes) |
| 3時半（さんじはん | 3:30朝 (san ji han asa - 3:30 am) または 3:30午後 (san ji han gogo - 3:30 pm) | |
| 1日半（いちにちはん） | いちにち＋はんにち (ichi nichi han - 1 and a half days) | |
| 2か月半（にかげつはん） | ２かげつ＋はんつき (ni kagetsu han - 2 and a half months) | |
| 1年半（いちねんはん） | いちねん＋ろっかげつ (ichi nen han - 1 and a half years) | 18か月 (jyuu hachi kagetsu - 18 months) |
We don’t say “han byou”, “han fun”, or “han jikan” by putting “han” before.
For “day” and longer durations, “han” can come before the number.
- 半日（はんにち） (han nichi - half day)
- 半月（はんつき） (han tsuki - half month)
- 半年（はんとし） (han toshi - half year)
However, be careful of the pronunciation:
- ×はんげつ (han getsu - incorrect for half month)
- ×はんねん (han nen - incorrect for half year)
We often use “han nichi”, “han tsuki”, and “han toshi” for approximate halves.
If you want to say exactly half, use “jyuu ni jikan”, “jyuu go nichi”, or “roku kagetsu”.
Appointment Dialogues
Practice booking slots in realistic contexts so you can deploy the vocabulary from this note during real errands. These model exchanges pair polite phrasing with the minute and hour counters above.
Healthcare check-up (電話予約)
| Japanese | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| もしもし、健診の予約をお願いしたいのですが、来週の火曜日午前9時は空いていますか。 | Moshi moshi, kenshin no yoyaku o onegai shitai no desu ga, raishū no kayōbi gozen kuji wa aiteimasu ka. | Hello, I’d like to book a health check-up. Is next Tuesday at 9 a.m. available? |
| 午前9時は埋まっております。午前10時半でしたらご案内できます。 | Gozen kuji wa umatte orimasu. Gozen jūji han deshitara goan’nai dekimasu. | 9 a.m. is full, but we can offer 10:30 a.m. |
| それでは10時半でお願いします。所要時間はどれくらいですか。 | Soredewa jūji han de onegai shimasu. Shoyō jikan wa dorekurai desu ka. | I’ll take 10:30 then. How long will it take? |
| 30分ほどです。保険証をお持ちください。 | Sanjūppun hodo desu. Hokenshō o omochi kudasai. | About 30 minutes. Please bring your insurance card. |
Cross-reference the intake checklist in 41.03 Healthcare & Insurance for required documents before making calls.
Carrier shop visit (店頭手続き)
| Japanese | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 本日16時に予約した田中です。 | Honjitsu jūrokuji ni yoyaku shita Tanaka desu. | I’m Tanaka—I booked for 4 p.m. today. |
| ご来店ありがとうございます。ご本人確認書類を拝見してもよろしいでしょうか。 | Goraiten arigatō gozaimasu. Gohon’nin kakunin shorui o haiken shite mo yoroshii deshō ka. | Thank you for coming. May I check your ID? |
| はい、在留カードとパスポートです。機種変更はどれくらい時間がかかりますか。 | Hai, zairyū kādo to pasupōto desu. Kishu henkō wa dorekurai jikan ga kakarimasu ka. | Here are my residence card and passport. How long will the handset upgrade take? |
| 手続きは45分ほどで終了します。お名前でお呼びしますので、少々お待ちください。 | Tetsuzuki wa yonjūgofun hodo de shūryō shimasu. Onamae de oyobi shimasu no de, shōshō omachi kudasai. | The process takes about 45 minutes. We’ll call your name—please wait a moment. |
See 41.07 Mobile, Internet & Communications for the documents carriers will ask for on the day.
Listening Practice
Pair the counters and dialogues with audio input to strengthen comprehension. Shadow the clips until you can reproduce the timing expressions naturally.
- NHK World Easy Japanese — Time & Appointments (約15分): Focuses on asking about available slots and confirming durations. Listen twice—first for gist, second to jot down every time expression you hear.
- Japanesepod101: Making a Doctor’s Appointment in Japanese (audio + PDF): Repeat the sample call and substitute different minute counters from this note.
- Forvo pronunciation list — 時間 (jikan) (native recordings): Drill individual counters (いっぷん, さんじゅっぷん, じゅうごふん) before tackling full dialogues.
Use active listening with the appointment checklists in 41.03 Healthcare & Insurance and shop preparation steps in 41.07 Mobile, Internet & Communications to map language to real errands.
Counter Cheat Sheet
| Counter | Japanese | Romaji | Mnemonic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | いっぷん | ippun | Think “one punch to start the timer”—pp reminds you of the small っ. |
| 3 minutes | さんぷん | sanpun | Picture three sun-dials; san stays intact so you know it’s さん, not し. |
| 4 minutes | よんぷん | yonpun | “YO! No fun before four” keeps よん + ぷん together. |
| 6 minutes | ろっぷん | roppun | Double consonant like the six legs of an insect tapping twice. |
| 8 minutes | はっぷん | happun | Imagine eight hops—the double pp cues the small っ. |
| 10 minutes | じゅっぷん | juppun | Tie to “ten jump rope intervals,” again signalling the small っ. |
| 30 minutes | さんじゅっぷん / さんじっぷん | sanjuppun / sanjippun | Half-hours jump to juppun; think “thirty jump rope spins.” |
| 45 minutes | よんじゅうごふん | yonjū gofun | “Forty’s YO-yo plus five fun” so you remember to switch back to ふん. |
| 1 hour | いちじ / いちじかん | ichiji / ichijikan | “First hour = ichi,” easy start to the pattern. |
| 4 o’clock | よじ | yoji | “YO” is special—never say しじ. |
| 9 o’clock | くじ | kuji | “Cue at nine” reminds you it’s く, not きゅう. |
| Half past | ～じはん | ~ji han | Picture a half moon hanging over the clock—han always trails the hour. |
Keep this table nearby when rehearsing the appointment dialogues so the exceptional readings (っぷん vs ふん) stay fresh.
Others
Notes:
- There is a clear distinction between “2時 (2 o’clock)” and “2時間 (2 hours).”
- For other units like “秒 (second),” “分 (minute),” “日 (day),” “月 (month),” and “年 (year),” you can use 間 (kan) or not to express duration.
- This applies when expressing duration, not for the current time.
- Examples:
- “1秒” or “1秒間” (one second)
- “5分” or “5分間” (five minutes)
- “2日” or “2日間” (two days)
- “2ヶ月” or “2ヶ月間” (two months)
- “1年” or “1年間” (one year)
- Both are acceptable and mean the same thing.
- “15分待って下さい” or “15分間待って下さい” (Please wait 15 minutes.)
- “3年勉強しました” or “3年間勉強しました” (I studied for 3 years.)
- In conversation, 間 is often omitted.
Other ways to express time:
- 2時ちょうど (2 ji choudo): Exactly 2:00
- 正午 (shougo): 12:00 noon
- 2時15分前 (2 ji 15 pun mae): 1:45 (not 2:14)
- 2時前 (2 ji mae): Around 1:50 to 2:00
- 2時過ぎ (2 ji sugi): Around 2:00 to 2:10
- 2時より前 (2 ji yori mae): Before 2:00 (until 1:59)
- 2時より後 (2 ji yori ato): After 2:00 (from 2:00 onwards)
- 2時以降 (2 ji igo): After 2:00 (from 2:00 onwards)
- 2時頃 (2 ji goro): Around 2:00
- 2時近い (2 ji chikai): Close to 2:00
- 2時ちょっと前 (2 ji chotto mae): A little before 2:00
- 2時ちょっと過ぎ (2 ji chotto sugi): A little after 2:00
- 2時台 (2 ji dai): The 2:00 hour (from 2:00 to 2:59)
- 2時過ぎから3時頃まで (2 ji sugi kara 3 ji goro made): From around 2:00 to around 3:00
- 2時ちょうどに会おう (2 ji choudo ni aou): Let’s meet at exactly 2:00.
- 2時頃までに来てください (2 ji goro made ni kite kudasai): Please come by around 2:00.
- 2時以降は来ないでください (2 ji igo wa konai de kudasai): Please don’t come after 2:00.
- 2時15分前に駅で待ち合わせ (2 ji 15 pun mae ni eki de machiawase): Let’s meet at the station at 1:45.
- 2時前後は忙しいので、連絡は控えてください (2 ji zen go wa isogashii node, renraku wa hikaete kudasai): I’m busy around 2:00, so please refrain from contacting me.
- There are nuances between “2時前” and “2時より前.”
- 2時前: A little before 2:00
- 2時より前: Vaguely before 2:00
- 2時以降 and 2時以後 are interchangeable.
Connections
- 21.01 Learning Japanese — Contextualises time expressions within the weekly study cadence and placement goals.