Time Expressions in Japanese

Overview

Being able to tell time, name days of the week, and use basic time words is essential for everyday communication in Japanese. Whether you are making plans with friends, catching a train, or scheduling an appointment, time expressions are among the first practical vocabulary you will need at the CEFR A1 level.

Japanese tells time using Sino-Japanese numbers combined with 時 (ji, "o'clock") and 分 (fun/pun, "minutes"). The system is straightforward once you know the numbers, though there are a few irregular readings to watch out for. Days of the week follow a consistent pattern using the names of celestial bodies, and basic time words like 今日 (kyou, "today"), 明日 (ashita, "tomorrow"), and 昨日 (kinou, "yesterday") will appear in almost every conversation.

One important note: some time words require the particle に (ni) when used in a sentence, while others do not. Understanding this distinction will help you form natural-sounding sentences from the start.

How It Works

Telling Time (Hours)

Hour	Japanese	Reading	Note
1:00	一時	いちじ (ichiji)
2:00	二時	にじ (niji)
3:00	三時	さんじ (sanji)
4:00	四時	よじ (yoji)	Irregular: not しじ
5:00	五時	ごじ (goji)
6:00	六時	ろくじ (rokuji)
7:00	七時	しちじ (shichiji)	Uses しち, not なな
8:00	八時	はちじ (hachiji)
9:00	九時	くじ (kuji)	Irregular: not きゅうじ
10:00	十時	じゅうじ (juuji)
11:00	十一時	じゅういちじ (juuichiji)
12:00	十二時	じゅうにじ (juuniji)

Add 半 (han, "half") for :30 -- 三時半 (sanji han) = 3:30.

Minutes

Minutes	Japanese	Reading	Note
1 min	一分	いっぷん (ippun)	Sound change
2 min	二分	にふん (nifun)
3 min	三分	さんぷん (sanpun)	Sound change
4 min	四分	よんぷん (yonpun)	Sound change
5 min	五分	ごふん (gofun)
10 min	十分	じゅっぷん (juppun)	Sound change
15 min	十五分	じゅうごふん (juugofun)
30 min	三十分	さんじゅっぷん (sanjuppun)	Or 半 (han)

Days of the Week

Day	Japanese	Reading
Monday	月曜日	げつようび (getsuyoubi)
Tuesday	火曜日	かようび (kayoubi)
Wednesday	水曜日	すいようび (suiyoubi)
Thursday	木曜日	もくようび (mokuyoubi)
Friday	金曜日	きんようび (kinyoubi)
Saturday	土曜日	どようび (doyoubi)
Sunday	日曜日	にちようび (nichiyoubi)

Basic Time Words

Japanese	Reading	Meaning	Takes に?
今日	きょう (kyou)	today	No
明日	あした (ashita)	tomorrow	No
昨日	きのう (kinou)	yesterday	No
今	いま (ima)	now	No
朝	あさ (asa)	morning	No (usually)
昼	ひる (hiru)	noon/daytime	No (usually)
夜	よる (yoru)	night/evening	No (usually)
午前	ごぜん (gozen)	AM / morning	No
午後	ごご (gogo)	PM / afternoon	No
毎日	まいにち (mainichi)	every day	No
月曜日	げつようび (getsuyoubi)	Monday	に optional
三時	さんじ (sanji)	3 o'clock	Yes (に)

The に Particle with Time

Specific times (clock time, dates, days) take に:

• 三時に会います。(sanji ni aimasu) -- I'll meet at 3 o'clock.
• 月曜日に行きます。(getsuyoubi ni ikimasu) -- I'll go on Monday.

Relative time words (today, tomorrow, now, every day) do not take に:

• 明日行きます。(ashita ikimasu) -- I'll go tomorrow. (No に)

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
今、三時です。	It's 3 o'clock now. (ima, sanji desu)	Telling current time
十時半に会いましょう。	Let's meet at 10:30. (juuji han ni)	Making plans
今日は月曜日です。	Today is Monday. (kyou wa getsuyoubi desu)	Day of week
明日、何をしますか？	What will you do tomorrow? (ashita)	No に for tomorrow
朝七時に起きます。	I wake up at 7 AM. (asa shichiji ni)	Daily routine
午後三時に会議があります。	There's a meeting at 3 PM. (gogo sanji ni)	AM/PM distinction
毎日日本語を勉強します。	I study Japanese every day. (mainichi)	No に for every day
昨日の夜、映画を見ました。	I watched a movie last night. (kinou no yoru)	Combining time words
金曜日に何をしますか？	What will you do on Friday? (kinyoubi ni)	Day + に
今何時ですか？	What time is it now? (ima nanji desu ka)	Asking the time

Common Mistakes

Using the wrong reading for 4, 7, 9 o'clock

• Wrong: しじ, ななじ, きゅうじ
• Right: よじ (4:00), しちじ (7:00), くじ (9:00)
• Why: These hours have specific irregular readings that must be memorized. They are among the most commonly tested items in Japanese exams.

Adding に to relative time words

• Wrong: 明日に行きます。
• Right: 明日行きます。
• Why: Words like 今日, 明日, 昨日, 今, and 毎日 do not take に. Only specific points in time (clock time, specific dates, days of the week) take に.

Confusing 分 readings (fun vs. pun)

• Wrong: さんふん, いちふん
• Right: さんぷん (sanpun), いっぷん (ippun)
• Why: Minutes undergo sound changes. After 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10, ふん becomes ぷん (with additional changes like いっ, ろっ, はっ, じゅっ).

Practice Tips

• Narrate your daily schedule in Japanese. "I wake up at 7" (七時に起きます), "I eat lunch at 12" (十二時に昼ごはんを食べます), "I sleep at 11" (十一時に寝ます). This makes time expressions automatic.

• Set your phone or clock display to Japanese. Seeing the time in Japanese characters throughout the day provides constant passive review.

• Practice asking and answering "What time?" with a partner. One person asks 今何時ですか？ and the other answers. Alternate between exact times and half-hours.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers and Counting -- you need to know Sino-Japanese numbers before learning time expressions