Build the time with 時 for the hour and 分 for the minute, and watch for sound changes like じゅっぷん. Use 半 for “half past.” Only add に when you name an exact point on the clock or calendar, not after relative words like 今日 or 明日.
This guide is for beginners who want to read clocks, ask for the time, and book appointments in Japanese. By the end, you will build any time expression and know exactly when に belongs.
Quick summary: Japanese time expressions combine 時 and 分, switch to 半 for half past, and only take に when they name an exact point, not a relative word like 今日 or 明日.
| Minutes | Reading | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1分 | いっぷん | ippun |
| 2分 | にふん | nifun |
| 3分 | さんぷん | sanpun |
| 4分 | よんぷん | yonpun |
| 5分 | ごふん | gofun |
| 6分 | ろっぷん | roppun |
| 7分 | ななふん | nanafun |
| 8分 | はっぷん | happun |
| 9分 | きゅうふん | kyūfun |
| 10分 | じゅっぷん | juppun |
- Why English Clock Reading Doesn’t Prepare You for 時 and 分
- The One-Question Test: Does This Time Word Need に or Not?
- Building the Time: 時, 分, and the Sound Changes in 〜分
- Asking the Time: 何時ですか vs 何時に〜ますか
- 午前, 午後, and 時 vs 時間: The Details That Trip Up Beginners
- Frequently Asked Questions About Telling Time in Japanese
- Quiz: Check Your Understanding
- Summary: Telling Time in Japanese
Why English Clock Reading Doesn’t Prepare You for 時 and 分
Two counted words instead of one glued number
In English, you read a clock time as one glued number. You say “four fifteen,” not “four hour fifteen minute.”
Japanese builds the same time from two separate counted words. 時 counts the hour, and 分 counts the minute.
English already has a tiny, invisible sound-change rule you never think about — “a” quietly becomes “an” before a vowel sound — and Japanese 分 (minutes) works the same way, silently switching between ふん and ぷん depending on the number attached to it.
English’s a/an rule is simple enough to explain in one sentence. 分’s sound changes don’t work that way. Each number — 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10 — changes differently, so you memorize each one instead of guessing a rule.
The One-Question Test: Does This Time Word Need に or Not?
Exact point vs. relative word
Is this time word naming an exact point on the clock or calendar (3時, 水曜日), or is it a relative word like 今, 今日, 明日? Exact points take に; relative words stand alone.
Take the word 水曜日, Wednesday. It names one exact day on the calendar, so it takes に: 水曜日に行きます.
Now take 今日, today. It only points to “the day you are in,” not one fixed slot, so it stands alone: 今日行きます, no に needed.
Building the Time: 時, 分, and the Sound Changes in 〜分
Hours, minutes, and 半 for half past
Most hours just add 時 to the number, but three numbers break the pattern. 4時 is よじ, 7時 is しちじ, and 9時 is くじ, not よんじ, ななじ, or きゅうじ.
Minutes work the same way, but the sound change hits 分 instead. Check the table above for the full set, and use 半 instead of 三十分 when you mean “half past” — it’s shorter and more natural in speech.
Japanese: すみません、次の予約は4時10分でお願いします。
Romaji: Sumimasen, tsugi no yoyaku wa yo-ji juppun de onegaishimasu.
English: Excuse me, could I get the next appointment for 4:10, please?
Why: 今 and 明日 are relative time words, so neither takes に — 今 here carries は as a topic marker, which is a different job from marking a point in time.
Japanese: 予約は7時半でお願いします。
Romaji: Yoyaku wa shichi-ji han de onegaishimasu.
English: I’d like the reservation for 7:30, please.
Why: Demonstrates 半 used for “half past” instead of spelling out 三十分, the more natural spoken form.
Asking the Time: 何時ですか vs 何時に〜ますか
Asking the clock vs. asking about a scheduled action
何時ですか simply asks what time it is right now. There’s no action attached, just the clock.
何時に〜ますか asks at what time something happens. The に here pins the action to one exact point, so it’s required.
Japanese: 今日は何時に病院に行きますか?
Romaji: Kyō wa nanji ni byōin ni ikimasu ka?
English: What time are you going to the clinic today?
Why: Contrasts 今日 (relative, no particle) with 何時に (an exact point on the clock, which requires に) inside the same sentence.
Japanese: 今は忙しいので、明日電話します。
Romaji: Ima wa isogashii node, ashita denwa shimasu.
English: I’m busy right now, so I’ll call tomorrow.
Why: Shows two relative time words, 今 and 明日, both attaching directly to the sentence with no に at all.
午前, 午後, and 時 vs 時間: The Details That Trip Up Beginners
AM/PM placement and point-in-time vs. duration
午前 and 午後 mark AM and PM, but they go before the hour, not after it like in English. You say 午後3時, not “3時午後.”
時間 looks like 時 with one extra kanji, but it means something different. 3時間 means “for three hours,” a length of time, while 3時 means “at three o’clock,” one exact point.
Unnatural: 今日に病院へ行きます。
Natural: 今日、病院へ行きます。
English marks almost every time word with “at,” “on,” or “in.” That habit makes learners add に after every Japanese time word too, even when it isn’t needed.
Common Mistake: 今、よんじです is wrong — say 今、よじです instead. Memorize the exceptions: 4時=よじ, 7時=しちじ, 9時=くじ, not よんじ/ななじ/きゅうじ.
Frequently Asked Questions About Telling Time in Japanese
How do you say “half past” in Japanese?
Add 半 after the hour, like 3時半 for “half past three.” You can also say 三十分 instead, but 半 is shorter and more common in speech.
Why does 10分 sound like juppun instead of juufun?
分 is a counter whose sound shifts depending on the number attached to it, similar to how English quietly changes “a” to “an” before a vowel. There’s no single formula — the changes for 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10 just have to be memorized.
Do I need に after every time word in Japanese?
No — に only attaches to an exact point on the clock or calendar, like 3時に or 水曜日に. Relative time words such as 今, 今日, and 明日 stand alone with no particle.
Quiz: Check Your Understanding
Try these three questions to check what you’ve learned.
- Fill in the blank: 明日、3時___空港へ行きます。 (に or nothing?)
- 三時に寝ます and 三時間寝ます are both grammatical — what’s the difference?
- What’s the difference between 何時ですか and 何時に行きますか?
1. に – 3時 is a specific clock time, so it requires に even though 明日 right before it is relative and takes no particle.
2. 三時に寝ます means “I will go to sleep AT 3 o’clock” (a point in time); 三時間寝ます means “I will sleep FOR 3 hours” (a duration). – 時 marks a specific clock point and takes に, while adding 間 turns the same number into a counter for duration, which never takes に.
3. 何時ですか asks what the current time is; 何時に行きますか asks at what time someone will go somewhere. – ですか simply requests the clock reading with no action involved, while に + a verb asks about the timing of a specific scheduled action.
Summary: Telling Time in Japanese
- Hour is 時 and minute is 分, but 分’s pronunciation changes depending on the number attached to it (like じゅっぷん for 10 minutes).
- Use 半 for “half past” instead of spelling out 三十分, and remember 4時, 7時, and 9時 have irregular readings (よじ, しちじ, くじ).
- Attach に only to specific points on the clock or calendar (何時に, 3時に); relative words like 今, 今日, and 明日 stand alone without に.
Next, practice turning these pieces into full daily schedules, from wake-up time to appointments, so they become automatic in conversation.
