0.3.3 Time

Question 1

Translate to Japanese:

one hour

Answer 1

いちじかん

ichi jikan

hour = jikan (じかん)

Question 2

Translate to Japanese:

a minute

Answer 2

いっぷん

ippun

The dictionary form of “minute” is actually fun (ふん).

Japanese changes fun (ふん) to pun (ぷん) after the numbers 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10.

For “one minute”, ichi (“one”) changes to i (いっ) for easier pronunciation, and pun (ぷん) is added.

Question 3

Translate to Japanese:

two minutes & ten seconds

Answer 3

にふんじゅうびょう

nifun juu byou

second = byou (びょう)

When talking about hours, minutes, and seconds in Japanese, “and” is omitted.

nifun (にふん) = two minutes

juubyou (じゅうびょう) = ten seconds

Question 4

Translate to Japanese:

a half-hour / half an hour

Answer 4

さんじゅっぷん

sanjuppun

Note: Japanese usually counts time in minutes rather than fractions.

Therefore, a half-hour is expressed as “30 minutes” instead.

Question 5

Translate to Japanese:

an hour and a half

Answer 5

いちじかんはん

ichijikan han

half = han (はん)

When han (はん) comes after a full hour, such as ichijikan (いちじかん), it means “…and a half”.

Question 6

Translate to Japanese:

It’s one o’clock.

Answer 6

いちじです。

ichi_ji_ desu.

o’clock / hour = ji (じ)

Question 7

Translate to Japanese:

It’s three o’clock.

Answer 7

さんじです。

sanji desu.

Question 8

Translate to Japanese:

It’s five thirty.

Answer 8

ごじはんです。

goji han desu.

When telling time, han (はん) means “half past (an hour)”.

Structure: [hour] + ji (じ) + han (はん) = [hour]:30

Question 9

Translate to Japanese:

It’s 11 am.

Answer 9

ごぜんじゅういちじです。

gozen juuichi ji desu.

AM / morning = gozen (ごぜん)

Unlike English, “am” and “pm” come before the time.

Question 10

Translate to Japanese:

It’s 12:30 pm.

Answer 10

ごごじゅうにじはんです。

Gogo juuni ji han desu.

PM / afternoon = gogo (ごご)

Unlike English, “am” and “pm” come before the time.

Question 11

Translate to Japanese:

It’s noon.

Answer 11

しょうごです。

Shougo desu.

noon = shougo (しょうご)

Like “noon” in English, shougo (しょうご) refers to exactly 12pm, not a general time of day.

Question 12

Translate to Japanese:

It’s midnight.

Answer 12

まよなかです。

Mayonaka desu.

midnight = mayonaka (まよなか)

Unlike in English, mayonaka (まよなか) usually refers to the late-night hours in general, roughly from around 12:00am to 2:00–3:00am, rather than a single exact time.

Question 13

Translate to Japanese:

What time is it?

Answer 13

なんじですか。

Nan ji desu ka.

o’clock / hour = ji (じ)

Question 14

[What is being said in the audio recording?]

Answer 14

• Man: ごごにじはんですか。(Gogo niji han desu ka.)
• Woman: いいえ、ごごにじじゅうごふんです。(Iie, gogo niji juugo fun desu.)

Translation:

Man: “Is it 2:30pm?”

Woman: “No, it’s 2:15pm.”

Question 15

Translate to Japanese:

now

Answer 15

いま

ima

Question 16

Translate to Japanese:

a long time

Answer 16

ながいじかん

nagai jikan

long = nagai (ながい)

nagai (ながい) can be used to talk about both time and distance.

Question 17

Translate to Japanese:

It’s late.

Answer 17

おそいです。

Osoi desu.

late = osoi (おそい)

In other contexts, osoi (おそい) can also mean “slow”.

Question 18

Translate to Japanese:

later

Answer 18

あとで

ato de

ato de (あとで) may also be used as “later on” or “afterwards”.

Question 19

Translate to Japanese:

It’s early.

Answer 19

はやいです。

Hayai desu.

early = hayai (はやい)

In other contexts, hayai (はやい) can also mean “fast” or “quick”.

Question 20

[What is being said in the audio recording?]

Answer 20

• Man: すみません、なんじですか。(Sumimasen, nanji desu ka.)
• Woman: ごぜんじゅうじです。(Gozen juuji desu.)

Translation:

Man: “Excuse me, what time is it?”

Woman: “[It’s] 10:00am.”

Question 21

[What is being said in the audio recording?]

Answer 21

• Man: いつですか。(Itsu desu ka.)
• Woman: あさはやいです。(Asa hayai desu.)

Translation:

Man: “When is [it]?”

Woman: “[It’s in the] early morning.”