How To Say Time In Japanese Language – Complete Guide

みなさんこんにちは

いまなんじですか？ 

Wait, what? Did that sound tricky?

If you’re here, you’re probably trying to figure out how to say the time in Japanese, right?

Well, don’t worry—you’ve come to the right place!

In Japan, telling time is a little different from how we do it in English, but once you understand the basics, it’s pretty simple—and even fun!

Ready to master it?

Let’s jump in and learn how to tell time in Japanese together!

Basic Vocabulary for Telling Time in Japanese

Alright, before we jump straight into telling time, let’s start with the basics—some simple words you need to know. Don’t worry, I’ll explain it in the easiest way possible!

Here are some easy words for you:

• 時 (じ / Ji) – Hour.
• 分 (ふん / ぷん / Fun / Pun) – Minute
• 午前 (ごぜん / Gozen for AM)
• 午後 (ごご / Gogo for PM)

Sounds easy, right? 

So, if you want to say “1 o’clock,” you’d say Ichi-ji (一時 / いちじ).

And if you want to talk about “5 minutes,” that’s Go-fun (五分 / ごふん).

Try it out yourself! 

What about 3 o’clock? 

Yep, you got it! San-ji (三時 / さんじ).

Telling Time in Japanese – Hour and Minute Breakdown

Now let’s put everything together! This is where the fun begins. Let’s say you want to say a specific time like 7:30. How do you do that?

It’s simple! You just combine the hour and minute:

[Hour] + Ji (時) + [Minute] + Fun (分)

For example:

7:30 is Shichi-ji san-jūppun (七時三十分).

1:15 would be Ichi-ji jū-go-fun (一時十五分).

10:05 would be Jū-ji go-fun (十時五分).

Confused? 

Below are separate tables for telling Hour and Minutes in Japanese Language.

Hour In Japanese

Minutes In Japanese

Now you can combine the hour and minute to tell any time in Japanese! It’s just like putting together pieces of a puzzle. Simply say the hour first, then add the minute.

Let’s try a few examples:

3:15 would be 三時十五分 (さんじ じゅうごふん) – San-ji jūgo-fun.

8:45 would be 八時四十五分 (はちじ よんじゅうごふん) – Hachi-ji yonjūgo-fun.

12:22 would be 十二時二十二分 (じゅうにじ にじゅうにふん) – Jūni-ji nijūni-fun.

5:50 would be 五時五十分 (ごじ ごじゅっぷん) – Go-ji go-jūppun.

Saying Half-Past in Japanese

For “half past” the hour, Japanese has a handy shortcut! Instead of saying 30 minutes, you can simply use the word 半 (はん) – han. This makes things a lot easier when telling time.

For example:

2:30 would be 二時半 (にじ はん) – Ni-ji han.

6:30 would be 六時半 (ろくじ はん) – Roku-ji han.

Telling AM and PM in Japanese 

In Japan, people often use the 24-hour format (like the military time), but they also use “AM” and “PM,” just like us. And they have special words for that! 

午前 – Gozen for AM (morning) and 午後- Gogo for PM (afternoon/evening).

So, if it’s 9 AM, you’d say:

午前9時です。 (Gozen ku-ji desu.) Which means: It’s 9 o’clock in the morning.

And if it’s 6 PM, you’d say:

午後6時です。 (Gogo roku-ji desu.) Which means: It’s 6 o’clock in the evening.

Here, you need to remember that  午前 or 午後 should appear before time.

It’s not compulsory to say AM or PM when telling time in Japanese! In fact, it can even sound a little strange. Imagine it’s the evening, and someone asks you for the time, and you say, “It’s 7 PM!” It feels a bit unnecessary, right? 

That’s because, in most casual conversations, people in Japan just give the time without mentioning whether it’s morning or evening.

However, there are some situations where specifying AM and PM is necessary, such as: In formal settings, like business meetings or schedules and When making appointments that could happen in either the morning or evening, such as a doctor’s visit or a train departure etc.

How to Ask for the Time in Japanese

Now that you know how to say time in Japanese, let’s learn how to ask for the time. 

The most common way to ask someone the time is:

今何時ですか？ (いまなんじですか？/ Ima nanji desu ka?)

This is polite form of asking time, but in common situations you can simply say like, なんじ? (Nan-ji) Or いまなんじ？(Ima nan-ji) Or なんじですか？(Nan ji desu ka)etc.

Common Time-Related Questions in Japanese

What time do we meet?
何時に会いますか？ (なんじに あいますか?) – Nanji ni aimasu ka?

What time will the meeting start?
会議は何時に始まりますか？ (かいぎは なんじに はじまりますか?) – Kaigi wa nanji ni hajimarimasu ka?

What time does the train leave?
電車は何時に出発しますか？ (でんしゃは なんじに しゅっぱつしますか?) – Densha wa nanji ni shuppatsu shimasu ka?

What time does the restaurant open?
レストランは何時に開きますか？ (レストランは なんじに あきますか?) – Resutoran wa nanji ni akimasu ka?

What time does the store close?
店は何時に閉まりますか？ (みせは なんじに しまりますか?) – Mise wa nanji ni shimarimasu ka?

What time does school start?
学校は何時に始まりますか？ (がっこうは なんじに はじまりますか?) – Gakkō wa nanji ni hajimarimasu ka?

What time is the appointment?
予約は何時ですか？ (よやくは なんじ ですか?) – Yoyaku wa nanji desu ka?

What time is the movie?
映画は何時ですか？ (えいがは なんじ ですか?) – Eiga wa nanji desu ka?

What time should I come?
何時に来ればいいですか？ (なんじに くれば いいですか?) – Nanji ni kureba ii desu ka?

What time does the bus arrive?
バスは何時に到着しますか？ (バスは なんじに とうちゃくしますか?) – Basu wa nanji ni tōchakushimasu ka?

How to Express Time Ranges in Japanese

When you want to talk about a range of time, like “from 9 AM to 5 PM,” Japanese has a simple way to express this using the words から (kara) for “from” and まで (made) for “to” or “until.” It’s just like how we say it in English! You place から after the starting time and まで after the ending time.

For example, if you want to say “The store is open from 9 AM to 5 PM,” you would say:

お店は午前9時から午後5時まで開いています。
(おみせは ごぜん くじ から ごご ごじ まで あいています。)
Omise wa gozen ku-ji kara gogo go-ji made aiteimasu.

How to Talk About Duration in Japanese

In Japanese, when you want to talk about how long something lasts, like “one hour,” “two hours,” or even “three and a half hours,” you use the word 時間 (じかん – jikan), which means “hour” or “hours.”

For example:

• 1 hour is 一時間 (いちじかん – ichi-jikan)
• 2 hours is 二時間 (にじかん – ni-jikan)
• 3 hours is 三時間 (さんじかん – san-jikan)

It’s pretty simple! You just add the counter 時間 (jikan) after the number to say how many hours something takes or lasts. Now, if you want to talk about partial hours like “three and a half hours,” you add 半 (はん – han), which means “half.”

For example:

• 3 and a half hours is 三時間半 (さんじかんはん – san-jikan han)

Here’s a practical example:
If you want to say, “The meeting lasted for two hours,” you’d say:
会議は二時間続きました。[かいぎは にじかん つづきました。/ Kaigi wa ni-jikan tsudzukimashita ]

Easy, right? Just remember 時間 (jikan) for hours and 半 (han) for half-hours, and you’ll be able to talk about time with ease.

So, いまなんじですか？ 

I bet you can confidently answer it now! 

But don’t stop here—keep asking yourself various time related questions and keep answering, whether it’s in the morning, afternoon, or late at night. 

Practice telling the time in Japanese in every situation: when you’re checking the clock, when someone asks you, or even just for fun!

Remember, practice makes perfect! The more you do it, the more natural it’ll feel. 

Enjoy the process of learning.

さようなら！