How to Tell Time in Japanese

In this article, you will learn how to tell time in Japanese. This is an essential skill in Japan, where punctuality is very important, and transportation always runs on time. Before we begin, you may wish to review the numbers from 1 to 59.

Let’s start with the basic vocabulary of telling time.

Time-Related Vocabulary

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
hour, time	時	じ	ji
minute	分	ふん	fun
second	秒	びょう	byou
half	半	はん	han
time, counter for number of hours	時間	じかん	jikan
AM	午前	ごぜん	gozen
PM	午後	ごご	gogo
morning	朝	あさ	asa
noon, afternoon	昼	ひる	hiru
evening	夕方	ゆうがた	yuugata
night	夜	よる	yoru

Telling time in Japanese involves combining these words with numbers. Let’s see how this is done.

The Hours

Hours are made up of the numbers 1 to 12, followed by 時 (ji, meaning hour).

Example:

1 + 時 (ji) = 1時 (ichi-ji):  1 o’clock

If you wanted to write out the time using kanji, it would look like this: 一時(ichi-ji). Both the kanji version (see the table below) or the numerical version (1時, 2時, 3時, etc.) are correct. They are both read the same way.

However, it is very common for numbers to be used instead of kanji to express time.

12 Hour Clock System

The hours using the 12-hour clock system are shown in the table below. (The 24-hour clock system is also commonly used in Japan, but we will get to that later.)

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
one o’clock	一時	いちじ	ichi-ji
two o’clock	二時	にじ	ni-ji
three o’clock	三時	さんじ	san-ji
four o’clock	四時	よじ	yo-ji
five o’clock	五時	ごじ	go-ji
six o’clock	六時	ろくじ	roku-ji
seven o’clock	七時	しちじ	shichi-ji
eight o’clock	八時	はちじ	hachi-ji
nine o’clock	九時	くじ	ku-ji
ten o’clock	十字	じゅうじ	juu-ji
eleven o’clock	十一時	じゅういちじ	juuichi-ji
twelve o’clock	十二時	じゅうにじ	juuni-ji

Be Careful!

Notice the numbers 4, 7, and 9.  4 can be read as either “shi” or “yon,” but when talking about time, it is always read as “yo.” 

7 o’clock will also always be shichi-ji, and never nana-ji.  9 o’clock is ku-ji, and NOT kyuu-ji

The Minutes

Minutes are added in a similar way. The number of minutes is followed by the kanji 分 (fun – meaning minute).

Example:

一時 (ichi-ji): 1 o’clock + 二十五(nijuu-go): 25 + 分 (fun) minute(s) = 一時二十五分 (ichi-ji nijuu-go fun): 1:25.

How to Read the Minutes in Japanese

Some numbers modify the pronunciation of the word 分 (fun). Let’s take a look at these first.

For counters beginning with “h” or “f” (hon, fun, etc.), the numbers 1, 3, 6, 8, and 10 modify the pronunciation of the counter to make the word easier to say. 

Today we will learn how this applies to 分 (fun), the counter for minutes, but it also applies to other counters such as 本 (hon) for stick-like objects and 匹 (hiki) for animals.

For minutes, the counter 分 is modified from ふん (fun) to ぷん (pun) after the numbers 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10. 

The number “4” is an exception.  Using “pun” after the number 4 is standard, but “fun” is also acceptable and widely used in conversation, so it’s best to be aware of both.

Minutes: Numbers From 1 to 10

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
one minute	一分	いっぷん	ippun
two minutes	二分	にふん	nifun
three minutes	三分	さんぷん	sanpun
four minutes	四分	よんぷん / よんふん	yonpun
five minutes	五分	ごふん	gofun
six minutes	六分	ろっぷん	roppun
seven minutes	七分	ななふん	nanafun
eight minutes	八分	はっぷん	happun
nine minutes	九分	きゅうふん	kyuufun
ten minutes	十分	じゅっぷん	juppun

The same endings apply for numbers larger than 10. Repetition helps you remember, so you’ll want to practice these a lot.

Minutes: Numbers Greater Than 10

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
eleven minutes	十一分	じゅういっぷん	juu-ippun
thirteen minutes	十三分	じゅうさんぷん	juu-sanpun
fourteen minutes	十四分	じゅうよんぷん	juu-yonpun
sixteen minutes	十六分	じゅうろっぷん	juu-roppun
eighteen minutes	十八分	じゅうはっぷん	juu-happun
twenty minutes	二十分	にじゅっぷん	ni-juppun
thirty minutes*	三十分	さんじゅっぷん	san-juppun
forty minutes	四十分	よんじゅっぷん	yon-juppun
fifty minutes	五十分	ごじゅっぷん	go-juppun

*Note: It’s more common to use 半 (han) to express 30 minutes when telling time, which we’ll cover below. The reading, san-juppun (30 minutes) is mainly used when talking about the duration of something, e.g., 三十分間(san-juppun kan): A period of 30 minutes.

Examples Telling time Using 分 (Fun):

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
1:15	一時十五分	いちじじゅうごふん	ichi-ji juu-go fun
2:40	二時四十分	にじよんじゅっぷん	ni-ji yon-juppun
3:02	三時二分	さんじにふん	san-ji ni fun
6:45	六時四十五分	ろくじよんじゅうごふん	roku-ji yonjuu-go fun
4:39	四時三十九分	よじさんじゅうきゅうふん	yo-ji sanjuu-kyu fun

Using 半 (Han) Instead of 30 Minutes

As mentioned above, the word for half is 半 (han). It is used for half past the hour. Add it after the hour, as shown in the examples below.

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
1:30	一時半	いちじはん	ichi-ji han
5:30	五時半	ごじはん	go-ji han
8:30	八時半	はちじはん	hachi-ji han
12:30	十二時半	じゅうにじはん	juuni-ji han

Different Ways to Write the Time in Japanese

Just like the hours above, minutes can also be expressed with Arabic numerals (1,2,3…) instead of kanij. In fact, it is common in Japan to not use any kanji at all, and just use numbers (e.g. 10:15, 2:15, 4:10 etc.).

So there are 3 ways to write the time in Japanese. Let’s say you want to write 3:15. You could write it in the following ways:

• 3:15
• 3時15分
• 三時十五分

If you ever go to Japan, you’ll find that the number version (3:15, 10:45, etc.) is the most common, while the all-kanji version is the least commonly used in most situations.

Seconds

The word 秒 (byou) means second, and its reading is not modified by the number before it, making it much easier to use. It doesn’t come up in conversation very often, but it’s good to know for reference. Simply add it to the time after the minutes.

Example:

二時 (ni-ji): two o’clock + 三十五分 (sanjuu-go fun): 35 minutes +  九 (kyuu): 9 + 秒 (byou) second = 二時三十五九秒 – にじさんじゅうごふんきゅうびょう (ni-ji sanjuu-go fun kyuu byou): 2:35:09

Since 秒 (byou) is not modified by the number in front of it, counting seconds is pretty straightforward.

Counting Time in Seconds

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
one second	一秒	いちびょう	ichi byou
two seconds	二秒	にびょう	ni byou
three seconds	三秒	さんびょう	san byou
four seconds	四秒	よんびょう	yon byou
five seconds	五秒	ごびょう	go byou
six seconds	六秒	ろくびょう	roku byou
seven seconds	七秒	ななびょう	nana byou
eight seconds	八秒	はちびょう	hachi byou
nine seconds	九秒	きゅうびょう	kyuu byou
ten seconds	十秒	じゅうびょう	juu byou

The 24-Hour Clock System

It is common in Japan to use the 24-hour clock for scheduling (13:00, 14:00, etc.), but the 12-hour clock is more commonly used in conversation. It is good to be familiar with both. 

Examples:

The next train departs at 18:10 (6:10 PM). – 次の列車は十八時十分に出発します。(Tsugi no ressha wa juuhachi-ji juppun ni shuppatsu shimasu.)

His plane arrives at 21:00. – 彼の飛行機は二十一時に到着します。 (Kare no hikouki wa nijuu-ichi-ji ni touchaku shimasu.)

AM & PM in Japanese

a.m. = 午前 (gozen)

p.m. = 午後 (gogo)

Although there are words for a.m. and p.m., it is more common to use words for the time of the day (e.g., morning, evening, etc.) in conversation. You can see these in examples #3 and 4 below.  

Examples:

1. Work starts at 5 a.m. – 午前五時から仕事が始まります。(Gozen go-ji kara shigoto ga hajimarimasu.)
2. The bus leaves at 6:00 p.m. – バスは午後六時に出発します。 (Basu wa gogo roku-ji ni shuppatsu shimasu.)
3. It started raining at 8:00 in the morning (8:00 a.m.) – 朝八時に雨が降り出しました。 (Asa hachi-ji ni ame ga furidashimashita.)
4. I go to the gym at 9:00 at night (9:00 p.m.). – 夜九時にジムに行きます。 (Yoru ku-ji ni jimu ni ikimasu.)

Counting A Number of Hours

The counter for the duration in hours is 時間 (jikan). Use this when you want to say how many hours something takes. Let’s look at how to use it.

Number of Hours

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
1 hour	一時間	いちじかん	ichi jikan
2 hours	二時間	にじかん	ni jikan
3 hours	三時間	さんじかん	san jikan
4 hours	四時間	よじかん	yo jikan
5 hours	五時間	ごじかん	go jikan
6 hours	六時間	ろくじかん	roku jikan
7 hours	七時間	しちじかん/ ななじかん	shichi jikan / nana jikan
8 hours	八時間	はちじかん	hachi jikan
9 hours	九時間	くじかん	ku-jikan
10 hours	十時間	じゅうじかん	juu jikan

Example Sentences:

How many hours does it take? – 何時間かかりますか。 (Nan jikan kakarimasu ka?)

How many hours did you sleep? – 何時間寝ましたか。(Nan jikan nemashita ka?)

I slept for 7 hours. – 七時間寝ました。 (Shichi-jikan nemashita.)

The same can be done with minutes. Just add the counter 分 (fun) to the word 間 (kan) to describe how many minutes something takes.

• 5 minutes – 五分間 (go fun kan)
• 20 minutes – 二十分間 (ni-juppun kan)
• 90 minutes – 九十分間 (kyuu-juppun kan)

Time-Related Expressions

Now that you know how to tell the time in Japanese let’s learn some time-related phrases.

• What time is it? – 今何時ですか。(Ima nanji desu ka?)
• It’s 8:30. 八時半です。(Hachi-ji han desu)

• What time is (the party)? – （パーティー）は何時ですか。 (Paatii wa nanji desu ka?)
• It’s from 6:00. – 六時からです。 (Roku-ji kara desu.)

Practice Telling Time

Can you answer these questions about your day? Use these to help you practice telling time.

1. What time do you wake up? – 何時に起きますか。(Nanji ni okimasuka.)
2. What time do you leave home? – 何時に家を出ますか。 (Nanji ni ie o demasu ka.)
3. What time do you eat lunch? – 何時に昼ごはんを食べますか。(Nanji ni hirugohan o tabemasuka.) 
4. What time do you return home? – 何時に帰りますか。 (Nanji ni kaerimasu ka.)
5. What time do you go to bed? – 何時に寝ますか。 (Nanji ni nemasu ka.)
6. How many hours do you sleep? – 何時間寝ますか。 (Nanjikan nemasuka.)

Now you know how to tell time in Japanese. This is an extremely useful skill for everyday life and conversation, and I’m sure it will come in handy for you. Practice it well, and you will never have to worry about being late!

As the saying goes, 時は金なり(toki wa kane nari), time is money, especially when traveling in Japan. Happy studying!