Introduction
Time is one of those topics you need from day one in Japanese. Whether you're catching a train, making plans with friends, or just telling someone when you woke up โ you'll need time expressions constantly. But between all the counters, irregular readings, and special rules, it can feel like a lot to take in.
The good news? Most of it follows clear patterns, and the irregular parts are limited. In this guide, we'll cover everything from telling time to days of the week, months, and how to express duration. By the end, you'll have all the essentials down.
Quick Answer
Quick Answer: Use ใๆ (ji) for hours, ใๅ (fun/pun) for minutes, ใๆๆฅ (youbi) for days of the week, and ใๆ (gatsu) for months. For duration, add ใ้ (kan) โ e.g., 3ๆ้ (san jikan) means "3 hours."
Telling Time: Hours and Minutes
Telling time in Japanese uses two counters: ใๆ (ji) for hours and ใๅ (fun/pun) for minutes.
Hours (ใๆ)
| Time | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | ไธๆ | ichi-ji |
| 2:00 | ไบๆ | ni-ji |
| 3:00 | ไธๆ | san-ji |
| 4:00 | ใๆ | yo-ji |
| 5:00 | ไบๆ | go-ji |
| 6:00 | ๅ ญๆ | roku-ji |
| 7:00 | ใใกๆ | shichi-ji |
| 8:00 | ๅ ซๆ | hachi-ji |
| 9:00 | ใๆ | ku-ji |
| 10:00 | ๅๆ | juu-ji |
| 11:00 | ๅไธๆ | juuichi-ji |
| 12:00 | ๅไบๆ | juuni-ji |
Watch out for the irregulars: 4:00 is ใใ (not "shi-ji"), 7:00 is ใใกใ (not "nana-ji"), and 9:00 is ใใ (not "kyuu-ji").
Minutes (ใๅ)
Minutes are trickier because the reading changes depending on the number:
| Minutes | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1ๅ | ใใฃใทใ | ippun |
| 2ๅ | ใซใตใ | ni-fun |
| 3ๅ | ใใใทใ | san-pun |
| 4ๅ | ใใใทใ | yon-pun |
| 5ๅ | ใใตใ | go-fun |
| 6ๅ | ใใฃใทใ | roppun |
| 7ๅ | ใชใชใตใ | nana-fun |
| 8ๅ | ใฏใฃใทใ | happun |
| 9ๅ | ใใ ใใตใ | kyuu-fun |
| 10ๅ | ใใ ใฃใทใ | juppun |
The pattern: 1, 6, 8, 10 use ใฃใทใ (ppun), while 3, 4 use ใทใ (pun). The rest use ใตใ (fun).
To say "AM" and "PM," use ๅๅ (gozen) and ๅๅพ (gogo) before the time:
- ๅๅๅ ซๆ (gozen hachi-ji) โ 8 AM
- ๅๅพไธๆ (gogo san-ji) โ 3 PM
If you're studying for JLPT N5, our study guide covers all of these time expressions with practice exercises.
Days of the Week
The days of the week follow a beautiful pattern based on nature and celestial bodies:
| Day | Japanese | Romaji | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | ๆๆๆฅ | getsu-youbi | Moon (ๆ) |
| Tuesday | ็ซๆๆฅ | ka-youbi | Fire (็ซ) |
| Wednesday | ๆฐดๆๆฅ | sui-youbi | Water (ๆฐด) |
| Thursday | ๆจๆๆฅ | moku-youbi | Wood (ๆจ) |
| Friday | ้ๆๆฅ | kin-youbi | Gold/Metal (้) |
| Saturday | ๅๆๆฅ | do-youbi | Earth (ๅ) |
| Sunday | ๆฅๆๆฅ | nichi-youbi | Sun (ๆฅ) |
Every day ends in ๆๆฅ (youbi). In casual speech, people often drop the ๆฅ and just say ๆๆ (getsuyou), ็ซๆ (kayou), etc.
Useful phrases:
- ไปๆฅใฏไฝๆๆฅใงใใ๏ผ (Kyou wa nan youbi desu ka?) โ What day is today?
- ๆฏ้ฑๆๆๆฅ (maishuu getsuyoubi) โ Every Monday
Months of the Year
Here's some good news: months in Japanese are simply number + ๆ (gatsu). No unique names to memorize!
| Month | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| January | ไธๆ | ichi-gatsu |
| February | ไบๆ | ni-gatsu |
| March | ไธๆ | san-gatsu |
| April | ๅๆ | shi-gatsu |
| May | ไบๆ | go-gatsu |
| June | ๅ ญๆ | roku-gatsu |
| July | ไธๆ | shichi-gatsu |
| August | ๅ ซๆ | hachi-gatsu |
| September | ไนๆ | ku-gatsu |
| October | ๅๆ | juu-gatsu |
| November | ๅไธๆ | juuichi-gatsu |
| December | ๅไบๆ | juuni-gatsu |
The only tricky part: April uses ใ (shi), July uses ใใก (shichi), and September uses ใ (ku) โ not yon, nana, or kyuu.
Days of the Month
Days of the month are the most irregular part of Japanese time expressions. The first ten days have special readings:
| Day | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ไธๆฅ | tsuitachi |
| 2nd | ไบๆฅ | futsuka |
| 3rd | ไธๆฅ | mikka |
| 4th | ๅๆฅ | yokka |
| 5th | ไบๆฅ | itsuka |
| 6th | ๅ ญๆฅ | muika |
| 7th | ไธๆฅ | nanoka |
| 8th | ๅ ซๆฅ | youka |
| 9th | ไนๆฅ | kokonoka |
| 10th | ๅๆฅ | tooka |
After the 10th, it becomes more regular: ๅไธๆฅ (juuichi-nichi), ๅไบๆฅ (juuni-nichi), etc. But the 14th (ๅๅๆฅ, juuyokka), 20th (ไบๅๆฅ, hatsuka), and 24th (ไบๅๅๆฅ, nijuuyokka) are also irregular.
These are worth memorizing โ you'll use them constantly for dates and appointments.
Duration: How Long Something Lasts
This is where many beginners get confused. There's a difference between a point in time and a duration of time. Japanese handles this with the suffix ใ้ (kan).
Hours:
- ไธๆ (san-ji) = 3 o'clock (a point in time)
- ไธๆ้ (san-jikan) = 3 hours (a duration)
Days:
- ไธๆฅ (mikka) = the 3rd (a date) OR 3 days (duration โ context makes it clear)
Weeks:
- ไธ้ฑ้ (isshuukan) = 1 week
- ไธ้ฑ้ (sanshuukan) = 3 weeks
Months:
- ไธๆ (san-gatsu) = March (a month name)
- ไธใๆ (san-ka-getsu) = 3 months (a duration)
Years:
- ไบๅนด (ni-nen) = the year 2 / 2 years
- ไบๅนด้ (ni-nenkan) = 2 years (duration, more explicit)
Watch our YouTube lessons for natural examples of these duration expressions used in real conversations.
Example Sentences
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| ไปใๅๅพไธๆๅไบๅใงใใ | Ima, gogo san-ji juugo-fun desu. | It's 3:15 PM now. |
| ๆฏ้ฑๆฐดๆๆฅใซๆฅๆฌ่ชใฎใฏใฉในใใใใพใใ | Maishuu suiyoubi ni nihongo no kurasu ga arimasu. | I have Japanese class every Wednesday. |
| ่ช็ๆฅใฏไธๆไบๅๆฅใงใใ | Tanjoubi wa shichi-gatsu hatsuka desu. | My birthday is July 20th. |
| ๆฑไบฌใซไธๆฅ้ใใพใใใ | Toukyou ni mikka-kan imashita. | I was in Tokyo for 3 days. |
| ใใฎๆ ็ปใฏไบๆ้ๅใงใใ | Kono eiga wa ni-jikan han desu. | This movie is 2 and a half hours. |
| ๆฅๆฌ่ชใๅ ญใๆๅๅผทใใฆใใพใใ | Nihongo wo rokkagetsu benkyou shite imasu. | I've been studying Japanese for 6 months. |
Common Mistakes
- Confusing ๅๆ (yo-ji, 4 o'clock) with ๅๆ้ (yo-jikan, 4 hours): Remember, ้ (kan) turns a time point into a duration.
- Using the wrong reading for months: April is ใใใค (shi-gatsu), not ใใใใค. July is ใใกใใค (shichi-gatsu), not ใชใชใใค.
- Forgetting ใ in month durations: "3 months" is ไธใๆ (sankagetsu), not ไธๆ (sangatsu โ which means "March").
- Mixing up date readings: The first 10 days have special readings. ไธๆฅ is ใคใใใก (tsuitachi), not ใใกใซใก (though ใใกใซใก means "one day" as a duration).
- Wrong particle with time: Use ใซ with specific times (ไธๆใซ) but no particle with relative times (ๆๆฅ่กใใพใ, not ๆๆฅใซ่กใใพใ โ though ใซ is also acceptable).
Practice Tips
- Set your phone to Japanese: You'll see dates and times in Japanese every time you check the time. It's passive but effective practice.
- Say the time out loud: Every time you look at a clock, say the time in Japanese. Make it a habit.
- Practice dates with a calendar: Go through a Japanese calendar and read each date out loud. Focus on the first 10 days until they feel natural.
- Use duration in daily conversation: Try describing your daily routine using duration โ ๅ ซๆ้ๅฏใพใใ (I slept 8 hours), ไธๅๅๆญฉใใพใใ (I walked 30 minutes).
- Write a schedule in Japanese: Plan your week using Japanese time expressions. This combines multiple patterns at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What's the difference between ไธๆฅ and ไธๆฅ้? ไธๆฅ (mikka) can mean either "the 3rd day of the month" or "3 days." Adding ้ (kan) makes it explicitly a duration: ไธๆฅ้ (mikka-kan) = "for 3 days."
Q: Do I always need to say ๅๅ/ๅๅพ? Not always. If the context is clear, you can just say the time. But in formal situations or when there could be confusion, add ๅๅ or ๅๅพ.
Q: Why are the readings for months different from counting? Months use the on'yomi (Chinese-origin) readings: ใ (4), ใใก (7), ใ (9). Regular counting often uses kun'yomi: ใใ, ใชใช, ใใ ใ. This is just something you need to memorize.
Q: How do I say "half past"? Add ๅ (han) after the hour. So 3:30 is ไธๆๅ (san-ji han). For other minutes, just say the number: ไธๆๅไบๅ (san-ji juugo-fun) = 3:15.
Q: Is there an easy way to remember the days of the week? Yes โ they follow the same celestial pattern as many languages. Moon, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth, Sun. Think of it as nature's weekly cycle.



