Learning Japanese: Telling Time in Japanese

What time is it?

Can you remember learning to tell time back in elementary school? Natsukashii… If you're learning a new language like Japanese, you'll have to start from the beginning again. Luckily, we already know how a clock works, so that's helpful. But of course, Japanese is a completely different language compared to Dutch, and there are some differences in how to tell time. So, how does it all work in Japanese? Let’s take a look!

Summary

In this article, you will learn:

• How to ask what time it is in Japanese.
• How to tell time in Japanese.
• Words you can use with time expressions.

What time is it?

Yes… What time is it then?! If you want to learn to tell time in Japanese, it’s handy to know this question! Fortunately, it’s a very easy, standard sentence. Check it out:

Formal Japanese

• Japanese: (いまは) なんじ ですか。
• Romaji: (Ima wa) nanji desu ka.
• Translation: What time is it (now)?

That’s it! Simple, right? This sentence is always appropriate when asking someone what time it is. It’s considered formal and polite language. However, if you’d like to say it in a more casual way, that’s possible too. Just make sure to use informal language only in appropriate situations, as using it otherwise can come across as rude. Let’s see how it looks:

Informal Japanese

• Japanese: (いま) なんじ？
• Romaji: (Ima) nanji?
• Translation: What time is it (now)?

The translation remains the same! As you can see, not much changes—only a few elements are left out. This is often the case when speaking informal Japanese. Now you know two ways to ask what time it is, so let’s move on to the main part...

Telling Time in Japanese

Now we’re getting to the real deal! How do you say what time it is in Japanese? First, you’ll need the numbers. Let’s take a look at those:

Now that we know the key numbers, let’s look at the grammar for forming sentences. It’s a bit different from how we say it in Dutch. Here’s how it looks:

Sentence Structure

[Hour] + じ です (ji desu)It’s quite simple, isn’t it? After the hour you want to indicate, you add じ (ji), which means “hour/time.” Then you add the verb です (desu), which means “is” in this context. And that’s it!

Here’s an example for clarity:

• Japanese: さんじ です。
• Romaji: Sanji desu.
• Translation: It’s three o’clock.

Minutes

What if you want to say it’s ten past three or quarter past four? There’s a way to do that, of course. Let’s look at the structure for such sentences:

Sentence Structure

[Hour]じ (ji)+ [Minutes]ふん/ぷん です (fun/pun desu)

Want to master telling time in Japanese? Learn more about the usage of ふん/ぷん (fun/pun) with our comprehensiveguide to Japanese grammar.