目錄
Japanese time expressions may look as simple as putting 「時」 and 「分」 after a number, but once you actually say them aloud, there are several places where mistakes are easy to make. 4 o’clock is not read 「よんじ」, and 9 o’clock is not 「きゅうじ」. With 「分」, forms such as 1 minute, 6 minutes, and 8 minutes also involve a small 「っ」. Add 「午前」「午後」「半」「ごろ」, the 13時 and 18時 commonly seen on Japanese timetables, and even 24時 and 25時 in late-night information, and the same system of telling time can take different forms depending on the context. This article works from hours and minutes through morning and afternoon, approximate times, and notations that cross midnight, so you can refer back to it when telling the time, reading transport information, or checking reservations.
How do you tell time in Japanese? The basic order and pronunciation of “hour + minute”
When expressing a specific time in Japanese, the order is quite similar to Chinese. The basic structure is 「○時○分」. You say the hour first, then the minutes. For example, 3:20 p.m. is 「午後3時20分」. On the hour, there is no need to add 「0分」; you can simply say 「3時」. For 3:30, you can say 「3時30分」, but 「3時半」 is more common in everyday conversation.
Basic structure:
「number＋時（じ）＋number＋分（ふん／ぷん）」
For example:
7:00 → 7時
7:15 → 7時15分
7:30 → 7時30分／7時半
7:45 → 7時45分
What really needs to be memorized separately is not the order, but the special pronunciations that occur when 「時」 and 「分」 follow different numbers.
How do you read 「時」? 4時, 7時, and 9時 are the easiest to mispronounce
To say “what hour” in Japanese, add 「時（じ）」 after the number. Most numbers are pronounced the same way as usual, but 「4時」「7時」「9時」 have fixed readings and are among the most common pronunciation mistakes for beginners learning Japanese time expressions.
| Time | Japanese | Kana |
| 1 o’clock | 1時 | いちじ |
| 2 o’clock | 2時 | にじ |
| 3 o’clock | 3時 | さんじ |
| 4 o’clock | 4時 | よじ |
| 5 o’clock | 5時 | ごじ |
| 6 o’clock | 6時 | ろくじ |
| 7 o’clock | 7時 | しちじ |
| 8 o’clock | 8時 | はちじ |
| 9 o’clock | 9時 | くじ |
| 10 o’clock | 10時 | じゅうじ |
| 11 o’clock | 11時 | じゅういちじ |
| 12 o’clock | 12時 | じゅうにじ |
| What time? | 何時 | なんじ |
The three forms that especially need to be memorized directly are:
4時 → よじ
7時 → しちじ
9時 → くじ
You cannot simply take the usual number readings 「四＝よん」「七＝なな」「九＝きゅう」 and combine them into 「よんじ」「ななじ」「きゅうじ」. When learning time expressions, it is useful to memorize 「よじ、しちじ、くじ」 as three complete units.
- Example: 会議は4時からです。
Kana: かいぎはよじからです。
Translation: The meeting starts at four o’clock.
「4時」 is always read 「よじ」, not 「よんじ」. 「〜時から」 means “starting from a certain time.” - Example: ホテルには7時ごろ戻ります。
Kana: ホテルにはしちじごろもどります。
Translation: I’ll return to the hotel around seven.
「7時」 is usually read 「しちじ」, and adding 「ごろ」 expresses “around” or “approximately” a certain time. - Example: 予約は夜9時です。
Kana: よやくはよるくじです。
Translation: The reservation is at nine tonight.
「9時」 is read 「くじ」. 「夜9時」 is very natural in everyday conversation and has a more conversational, everyday feel than simply saying 「午後9時」.
How do you read 「分」 in Japanese? 「ふん／ぷん」 and small-っ changes
Minutes are even easier to mispronounce than hours because 「分」 is read either 「ふん」 or 「ぷん」 depending on the number before it, and some forms also contain a small 「っ」. This means 「1分」 is not 「いちふん」 but 「いっぷん」, while 「6分」 is not 「ろくふん」 but 「ろっぷん」.
| Minutes | Japanese | Kana |
| 1 minute | 1分 | いっぷん |
| 2 minutes | 2分 | にふん |
| 3 minutes | 3分 | さんぷん |
| 4 minutes | 4分 | よんぷん |
| 5 minutes | 5分 | ごふん |
| 6 minutes | 6分 | ろっぷん |
| 7 minutes | 7分 | ななふん |
| 8 minutes | 8分 | はっぷん |
| 9 minutes | 9分 | きゅうふん |
| 10 minutes | 10分 | じゅっぷん |
| How many minutes? | 何分 | なんぷん |
A useful first step is to memorize the combinations that use 「ぷん」:
1分 → いっぷん
3分 → さんぷん
4分 → よんぷん
6分 → ろっぷん
8分 → はっぷん
10分 → じゅっぷん
By contrast, 「2分、5分、7分、9分」 use 「ふん」.
After 10 minutes, the same basic rules continue to apply. For example, 「21分」 is 「にじゅういっぷん」, 「24分」 is 「にじゅうよんぷん」, and 「26分」 is 「にじゅうろっぷん」. 「30分」 is read 「さんじゅっぷん」, but when actually telling the time, 「7時30分」 is often simply said as 「7時半」.
- Example: 今は3時15分です。
Kana: いまはさんじじゅうごふんです。
Translation: It is 3:15 now.
「15分」 is read 「じゅうごふん」. Once you know how the single-digit minute forms are read, you can extend the same patterns to times in the twenties, thirties, and so on. - Example: 電車は8時26分に出発します。
Kana: でんしゃははちじにじゅうろっぷんにしゅっぱつします。
Translation: The train departs at 8:26.
Since 「26分」 ends in 「6分」, it still takes the small-っ form and is read 「にじゅうろっぷん」. - Example: あと何分かかりますか。
Kana: あとなんぷんかかりますか。
Translation: How many more minutes will it take?
To ask “how many minutes,” use 「何分（なんぷん）」. 「何時（なんじ）」 asks what time it is, while 「何分（なんぷん）」 can ask either the number of minutes or how much time something will take.
How do 「午前」 and 「午後」 work? Morning and afternoon come before the time in Japanese
The Japanese word for “a.m.” is 「午前（ごぜん）」, while “p.m.” is 「午後（ごご）」. They are normally placed before the time, so 9 a.m. is 「午前9時」 and 3:30 p.m. is 「午後3時半」.
「午前＋time」
「午後＋time」
午前9時 → 9 a.m.
午後1時 → 1 p.m.
午後6時30分 → 6:30 p.m.
In everyday conversation, 「午前」 and 「午後」 are not necessarily used every time. If the context is already clear, Japanese speakers also commonly use 「朝」「昼」「夕方」「夜」「深夜」 to describe parts of the day, as in 「朝7時」「昼12時」「夜8時」「深夜1時」. These sound more natural in everyday conversation than mechanically translating every “morning” or “afternoon” expression as 「午前」 or 「午後」.
- Example: 受付は午前9時からです。
Kana: うけつけはごぜんくじからです。
Translation: Reception starts at 9 a.m.
「午前」 is common in clearly stated time information such as business hours, event schedules, hospitals, and hotels, and it comes before 「9時」. - Example: 午後2時にホテルのロビーで会いましょう。
Kana: ごごにじにホテルのロビーであいましょう。
Translation: Let’s meet in the hotel lobby at 2 p.m.
The particle 「に」 is used after a specific time to indicate when an action takes place, giving the pattern 「午後2時に会う」. - Example: 夜8時半にレストランを予約しました。
Kana: よるはちじはんにレストランをよやくしました。
Translation: I reserved the restaurant for 8:30 at night.
「夜8時半」 is very natural in everyday conversation, and there is no need to replace it with the more formal 「午後8時30分」.
How do 「半／ごろ／前／過ぎ」 work in Japanese? Half past, around, before, and after a time
Real conversations do not always use precise times such as 「8時23分」. When making plans with friends, asking about business hours, or arranging a trip, you are more likely to encounter expressions such as “8:30,” “around 9,” “before 9,” and “just after 9.” Once you know these time expressions, Japanese time stops being a matter of simply reading numbers and becomes something you can actually use in conversation.
How do you use 「半」? 「7時半」 means 7:30
「半（はん）」 comes after 「○時」 and means 30 minutes, so 「7時半」 means 「7時30分」. In everyday speech, 「7時半」 is usually shorter and more natural than saying the full 「7時30分」.
「○時半」＝○:30
3時半 → 3:30
7時半 → 7:30
午後10時半 → 10:30 p.m.
Because 「半」 already includes the meaning of 30 minutes, you cannot say 「7時半30分」.
- Example: 朝7時半に起きます。
Kana: あさしちじはんにおきます。
Translation: I get up at 7:30 in the morning.
「7時半」 means 「7時30分」 and is extremely common in everyday life. - Example: 映画は午後6時半から始まります。
Kana: えいがはごごろくじはんからはじまります。
Translation: The movie starts at 6:30 p.m.
「〜時半から」 directly expresses “starting from half past a certain hour.” - Example: 8時半までに駅に来てください。
Kana: はちじはんまでにえきにきてください。
Translation: Please come to the station by 8:30.
「までに」 marks a deadline, so it does not mean that you should start heading to the station at 8:30; it means you must arrive no later than 8:30.
How do 「ごろ」「前」「過ぎ」 work? Expressing around, before, and after a time
When the time is uncertain or does not need to be exact to the minute, 「ごろ」 can mean “around” or “approximately.” For example, 「7時ごろ」 means “around seven.” 「○時前」 means before a certain time, while 「○時過ぎ」 indicates that the time has already passed and usually carries the sense of “not long after.”
7時ごろ → around 7
7時前 → before 7 / shortly before 7
7時過ぎ → just after 7
7時ちょうど → exactly 7
To say “five minutes to nine,” you can also use 「9時5分前」, which means 8:55. This form is possible in Japanese, but simply saying 「8時55分」 is also completely natural in everyday time-telling, so there is no need to convert every “minutes before” expression into 「○分前」.
- Example: 7時ごろ駅に着くと思います。
Kana: しちじごろえきにつくとおもいます。
Translation: I think I’ll arrive at the station around seven.
「ごろ」 expresses an approximate time and works well in situations such as transport or meeting arrangements where an exact minute cannot be guaranteed. - Example: 9時前にはホテルを出たいです。
Kana: くじまえにはホテルをでたいです。
Translation: I’d like to leave the hotel before nine.
「9時前」 only means before 9:00 and does not specify whether that means 8:50 or 8:55. - Example: 店に着いたのは10時過ぎでした。
Kana: みせについたのはじゅうじすぎでした。
Translation: It was a little after ten when I arrived at the shop.
「10時過ぎ」 indicates that 10 o’clock has already passed and is usually understood as not very long after 10, rather than a specific minute.
How do you distinguish 「0時／12時／24時／25時」 in Japanese? Midnight, noon, and times that cross into the next day
Times around 12 o’clock are among the easiest Japanese time expressions to interpret ambiguously. For noon, saying 「昼12時」 or 「正午（しょうご）」 is clearest. For midnight, expressions such as 「午前0時」「夜中の12時」「深夜0時」 are common. These forms help avoid the confusion that can arise from writing only 「午前12時」 or 「午後12時」, where it may be unclear whether the date has already changed.
Japan also uses the 24-hour clock extensively in transport schedules, event timetables, and business information. This means 1 p.m. can be shown directly as 「13時」 and 8:30 p.m. as 「20時30分」. In formal time information, displays such as 「18:00」 and 「21:30」 are extremely common, while in spoken conversation the same times may still be expressed as 「午後6時」 or 「夜9時半」.
In addition, some Japanese television schedules, clubs, events, and late-night business information may use 「24時」「25時」 or even higher numbers. 「24時」 means 0:00 the next day, while 「25時」 means 1:00 a.m. the next day. The purpose is to continue treating times after midnight as part of the previous day’s business day or programming day. This is not a system you have to use when normally telling the time, but it is very useful to recognize when checking events and business hours while traveling in Japan.
- Example: イベントは18時に始まります。
Kana: イベントはじゅうはちじにはじまります。
Translation: The event starts at 18:00.
「18時」 is 6 p.m., and timetables, event information, and formal notices often use the 24-hour clock directly. - Example: チェックインは15時からです。
Kana: チェックインはじゅうごじからです。
Translation: Check-in starts at 15:00.
Hotels, transport services, and reservation systems often use 「15時」 for 3 p.m. without adding 「午後」. - Example: この店は深夜1時まで営業しています。
Kana: このみせはしんやいちじまでえいぎょうしています。
Translation: This shop is open until 1 a.m.
「深夜1時」 is a natural way to express 1 a.m. in everyday conversation; business information that treats the time as part of the same business day may instead show 「25時まで」.
How do you ask what time it is in Japanese? Using 「何時」「何時から」「何時まで」
To simply ask the current time, you can say 「今、何時ですか」. When asking about an event, business hours, or a reservation, forms such as 「何時からですか」「何時までですか」「何時に始まりますか」 are even more common in practice.
| What you want to ask | Japanese | English |
| What time is it now? | 今、何時ですか。 | What time is it now? |
| What time does it start? | 何時からですか。 | What time does it start? |
| Until what time? | 何時までですか。 | Until what time? |
| What time does it start? | 何時に始まりますか。 | What time does it start? |
| What time does it depart? | 何時に出発しますか。 | What time does it depart? |
| Around what time? | 何時ごろですか。 | Around what time? |
| How many minutes are left? | あと何分ですか。 | How many minutes are left? |
「何時」 is read 「なんじ」, not 「なにじ」, while 「何分」 is read 「なんぷん」. Specific times also commonly take the particle 「に」, as in 「7時に起きます」 and 「10時に出発します」. However, words such as 「今日」「明日」「毎朝」 already express a time frame by themselves and generally do not take 「に」 in the same way.
Japanese time expressions for travel: Useful questions at hotels, train stations, and restaurants
When traveling in Japan, time expressions appear from morning to night: how long hotel breakfast is served, what time the next train comes, what time a restaurant reservation is, and how late a shop stays open. Written time information in Japan tends to favor precise times and the 24-hour clock, while everyday speech commonly uses more natural expressions such as 「半」「ごろ」「朝」「夜」. This means that the same time may not always appear in exactly the same form when you read it and when you say it.
▌Situation ①｜Asking about breakfast hours at a hotel
A：朝食は何時から何時までですか。
ちょうしょくはなんじからなんじまでですか。
What time is breakfast served from and until?
B：午前7時から10時までです。
ごぜんしちじからじゅうじまでです。
It is from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
📌 Grammar Point: 「何時から何時まで」 is one of the most useful patterns for asking about business hours or service hours. 「から」 marks the starting point, while 「まで」 marks the endpoint.
▌Situation ②｜Asking about the next train at a station
A：次の電車は何時ですか。
つぎのでんしゃはなんじですか。
What time is the next train?
B：10時18分です。
じゅうじじゅうはっぷんです。
It is at 10:18.
📌 Grammar Point: 「18分」 is read 「じゅうはっぷん」 and retains the small-っ change from 「8分＝はっぷん」. When reading a two-digit number of minutes, it can help to break it down as 「10＋8」 to check the final pronunciation.
▌Situation ③｜Making a dinner reservation
A：午後7時半は空いていますか。
ごごしちじはんはあいていますか。
Do you have availability at 7:30 p.m.?
B：はい、7時半でしたらご案内できます。
はい、しちじはんでしたらごあんないできます。
Yes, we can seat you at 7:30.
📌 Grammar Point: 「午後7時半」 fully specifies 7:30 in the evening, but when the same time is mentioned again, the context is already clear, so simply saying 「7時半」 is enough.
Cultural Notes:
- Japan uses the 24-hour clock extensively in transport and reservation information. Shinkansen, trains, flights, hotel check-in information, and event schedules commonly show times such as 「14:30」 and 「18:00」 directly, so being able to recognize 13時 through 23時 is more practical than knowing only 「午後○時」. In spoken conversation, however, you do not have to follow the 24-hour clock, and expressions such as 「午後3時」 or 「夜8時」 are completely natural.
- Everyday Japanese frequently uses 「朝」「昼」「夕方」「夜」「深夜」 to specify parts of the day, as in 「朝8時」「夕方6時」「夜10時」. Unlike 「午前」 and 「午後」, these are not based on a completely fixed 12-hour division and instead carry a sense of daily routine and different periods of the day. For this reason, 「夕方5時」 and 「午後5時」 point to the same time but do not have exactly the same nuance.
- Late-night television schedules and business information sometimes continue counting past midnight as 「24時」「25時」. For example, Friday 「25時」 is actually 1 a.m. on Saturday, but in a program guide or business schedule it is still treated as late Friday night. Seeing 「25:00」 for the first time does not mean the day literally has 25 hours; it is a time notation used in some Japanese industries to preserve the concept of a single programming or business day.
How do Japanese time expressions compare with Korean 「시／분／오전／오후」?
The order used to tell time in Korean is similar to Japanese: first the hour, then the minutes. 「오전」 for a.m. and 「오후」 for p.m. also come before the time. For example, Japanese 「午後3時30分」 corresponds to Korean 「오후 세 시 삼십 분」. What needs to be memorized separately is the number system. In everyday Korean, hours usually use native Korean numerals, so 2 o’clock is 「두 시」, 3 o’clock is 「세 시」, and 9 o’clock is 「아홉 시」. Minutes, however, use Sino-Korean numerals, so 10 minutes is 「십 분」, 15 minutes is 「십오 분」, and 30 minutes is 「삼십 분」. This means that for a time such as 3:30, the numbers before and after cannot be read using the same system; it must be 「세 시 삼십 분」.
- Example: 오전 아홉 시에 출발해요.
Romanization: o-jeon a-hop si-e chul-bal-hae-yo.
Translation: We leave at 9 a.m.
「오전」 corresponds to Japanese 「午前」, while 「9 o’clock」 is 「아홉 시」 using a native Korean numeral. Japanese 「午前9時」 is read 「ごぜんくじ」. Both refer to 9 a.m., but the rules for reading the numbers are different. - Example: 오후 세 시 삼십 분에 만나요.
Romanization: o-hu se si sam-sip bun-e man-na-yo.
Translation: Let’s meet at 3:30 p.m.
Two number systems appear in the same sentence: 「세」 in 「세 시」 is a native Korean numeral, while 「삼십」 in 「삼십 분」 is Sino-Korean. Japanese 「午後3時30分（ごごさんじさんじゅっぷん）」 does not require this kind of switch between number systems. - Example: 지금 두 시 십오 분이에요.
Romanization: ji-geum du si sip-o bun-i-e-yo.
Translation: It is 2:15 now.
「2 o’clock」 uses the native Korean form 「두 시」, while 「15 minutes」 is 「십오 분」. When you see 「○시 ○분」, it helps to separate 「시」 and 「분」 first, then decide which number system should come before each one.
◆ Differences from Japanese time expressions:
Japanese and Korean use a similar order for telling time, but the places where learners tend to make mistakes are different. In Japanese, the main forms to remember are 「4時＝よじ」「7時＝しちじ」「9時＝くじ」, along with the 「ふん／ぷん」 distinction and small-っ changes for 「分」. In Korean, you first need to look at whether the number is followed by 「시」 or 「분」. With 「시」, everyday time-telling usually uses native Korean numerals; with 「분」 for minutes, Sino-Korean numerals are used instead. Even an ordinary time such as 3:30 therefore contains both 「세」 and 「삼십」 in Korean.
The parts of Japanese time expressions that are easy to mispronounce are actually quite concentrated. When you see 4時, 7時, or 9時, you should immediately recognize them as 「よじ、しちじ、くじ」. With minutes, you need to pay attention to 「ふん／ぷん」 and the small-っ changes instead of simply attaching 「分」 to the ordinary number reading. In everyday arrangements, expressions such as 「7時半」「8時ごろ」「9時前」 are more common than always stating the exact number of minutes. When reading train, hotel, or event information, the 24-hour forms from 13時 to 23時 are also very common. As for 24時 and 25時, they are mainly used in late-night programs, business hours, or event information to continue counting time under the previous day’s date. When you encounter a time expression, first determine whether it is stating the hour, the minutes, or a period that crosses midnight, and the different rules are much less likely to get mixed up.
FAQs
In Japanese, the hour is expressed with 「number＋時（じ）」, while 「何時（なんじ）」 is used to ask what time it is. The forms 「4時＝よじ」「7時＝しちじ」「9時＝くじ」 especially need to be memorized directly and cannot be formed by simply combining the usual number readings.
The pronunciation of 「分」 changes depending on the preceding number. 「2分、5分、7分、9分」 use 「ふん」, while 「1分、3分、4分、6分、8分、10分」 use 「ぷん」. Among these, 1, 6, 8, and 10 also involve a small 「っ」.
A.m. is 「午前（ごぜん）」 and p.m. is 「午後（ごご）」, and both come before the time, as in 「午前9時」 and 「午後3時」. Everyday conversation also frequently uses time-of-day expressions such as 「朝9時」 and 「夜8時」, which feel more conversational than the more formal 「午前／午後」.
Both are correct, but 「7時半（しちじはん）」 is usually more natural in everyday conversation. 「7時30分」 is more likely to appear when precise timekeeping is needed, such as in timetables, broadcasts, or formal information.
「24時」 means midnight at the start of the next day, while 「25時」 means 1 a.m. the next day. This notation mainly appears in late-night programming, events, or nighttime business information so that times after midnight can still be treated as part of the previous programming or business day. It is not something you normally need to use when telling time in everyday conversation.