Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →Japanese · JLPT Band 1 (N5) · Chapter 16
なんじですか？ What time is it?
How to tell the time. You ask "Nanji desu ka?" and answer "…ji desu". Numbers use the Sino reading (ichi, ni, san…), but watch the readings: 4 o'clock = "yoji", 7 = "shichiji", 9 = "kuji". "Han" = 30 minutes (niji-han = 2:30). "Fun/pun" = minute. Put gozen (a.m.) or gogo (p.m.) in front. New words: ima, ji, fun, han, gozen, gogo, asa, hiru, ban, yoru. Script corner: the start of katakana (kōhī, menyū).
Dialogue
よんじ？ よじ？ — yonji? yoji?
- Yuki マイクさん、いま なんじですか？ Mike, what time is it now?
- Mike よんじです。 It's four o'clock. (slip: 4 o'clock is read "yoji", not "yonji")
- Yuki ４じは「よじ」です。よみかたに ちゅうい。 4 o'clock is "yoji". Watch the reading.
- Mike あ、ごご よじですね。 Ah, it's 4 p.m., right?
Dialogue
あさ？ ごご？ — Morning or Afternoon?
- Ken ゆきさん、いま なんじですか？ Yuki, what time is it now?
- Yuki ごご にじ じゅっぷんです。 It's 2:10 p.m.
- Ken ごごですか。あさじゃ ないですか？ It's afternoon? Isn't it morning?
- Yuki あさじゃ ないです。いま ごごです。 It's not morning. It's afternoon now.
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| いま | ima | n. | now |
| 〜じ | ji | counter | o'clock, hour |
| 〜ふん | fun / pun | counter | minute |
| はん | han | n. | half (past) |
| ごぜん | gozen | n. | a.m., morning |
| ごご | gogo | n. | p.m., afternoon |
| あさ | asa | n. | morning |
| ひる | hiru | n. | noon, daytime |
| ばん | ban | n. | evening |
| よる | yoru | n. | night |
Grammar
じかんの いいかた（〜じ、〜ふん、はん） Telling time (ji, fun, han)
「なんじですか？」（What time is it?）と ききます。こたえは「かず＋じ＋です」：いちじ、にじ、さんじ… でも よみかたに ちゅうい：４じ＝「よじ」、７じ＝「しちじ」、９じ＝「くじ」（よんじ・ななじ・きゅうじ では ありません）。「はん」＝30ぷん：にじはん＝2:30。ふんは「ふん」または「ぷん」：１ぷん、３ぷん、５ふん、10ぷん。ごぜん（a.m.）・ごご（p.m.）を まえに：ごご よじ。「〜に」＝at（じかんの あとに）：くじに。えいごを はなす ひとは ４じを「よんじ」と いう まちがいを よく します。
You ask "Nanji desu ka?" (What time is it?). The answer is "number + ji + desu": ichiji, niji, sanji… But watch the readings: 4 = "yoji", 7 = "shichiji", 9 = "kuji" (NOT yonji, nanaji, kyūji). "Han" = 30 minutes: niji-han = 2:30. Minutes are "fun" or "pun": ippun, sanpun, gofun, juppun. Put gozen (a.m.) or gogo (p.m.) in front: gogo yoji. "…ni" = at (after the time): kuji ni. English speakers often wrongly say "yonji" for 4 o'clock.
- いま なんじですか？ — さんじです。 Ima nanji desu ka? — Sanji desu. What time is it now? — It's three o'clock.
- ごぜん くじ はんです。 Gozen kuji han desu. It's 9:30 a.m.
- ごご よじです。 Gogo yoji desu. It's 4 p.m. (yoji!)
- じゅぎょうは ごぜん くじです。 Jugyō wa gozen kuji desu. The class is at nine a.m.
kana
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →