Japanese Lesson 14 – Telling the Time · N5

📋 Expression Reference — Telling the Time

Key phrases across formality levels. Press ▶ to hear any expression.

FORMAL — けいご (KEIGO)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
いまなんじでしょうか？	Ima nan-ji deshō ka?	ごごさんじでございます。 Gogo san-ji de gozaimasu.	Asking the time formally (hotel, reception)
ごじにおあいしましょう。	Go-ji ni oai shimashō.	はい、かしこまりました。 Hai, kashikomarimashita.	Suggesting a meeting time formally; response = "Certainly."

STANDARD — ていねい (TEINEI)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
いまなんじですか？	Ima nan-ji desu ka?	ごごさんじです。 Gogo san-ji desu.	Standard "What time is it?"
なんじにはじまりますか？	Nan-ji ni hajimarimasu ka?	じゅうじはんにはじまります。 Jūji han ni hajimarimasu.	Asking when something starts
じゅうじにあいましょう。	Jūji ni aimashō.	わかりました。 Wakarimashita.	"Let's meet at 10." — propose a time

CASUAL — くだけた (KUDAKETA)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
いまなんじ？	Ima nan-ji?	さんじじゅうごふんだよ！ San-ji jūgo-fun da yo!	Casual "What time is it?" — drop everything
なんじにする？	Nan-ji ni suru?	ごじでいい？ Go-ji de ii?	"What time shall we make it?" — casual scheduling

🗣 Mini Dialogues

Three scenes at different formality levels. Press ▶ to hear each line.

A — FORMAL · Hotel Concierge

ゲスト

すみません、いまなんじでしょうか？

Sumimasen, ima nan-ji deshō ka?

Excuse me, what time is it now?

いまなんじ [ENDING] ？

ima nan-ji [deshō ka / desu ka / (none)]

now what-time formal / standard / casual

→ "What time is it?" — the ending alone changes the register

コンシェルジュ

ごごさんじでございます。

Gogo san-ji de gozaimasu.

It is 3 PM.

ゲスト

ありがとうございます。ちょうどよかったです。

Arigatō gozaimasu. Chōdo yokatta desu.

Thank you. That's just right.

B — STANDARD · Office Meeting

みき

かいぎはなんじにはじまりますか？

Kaigi wa nan-ji ni hajimarimasu ka?

What time does the meeting start?

[NOUN] はなんじにはじまりますか？

[event] wa nan-ji ni hajimarimasu ka?

[event] — at what time does it start?

→ "What time does [event] start?"

けん

じゅうじはんにはじまります。

Jūji han ni hajimarimasu.

It starts at half past ten.

[TIME] にはじまります。

[time] ni hajimarimasu.

at [time] it starts.

→ "It starts at [time]."

みき

わかりました。じゅっぷんでいきます。

Wakarimashita. Juppun de ikimasu.

Got it. I'll be there in ten minutes.

C — CASUAL · Friends at a Café

りょう

ねえ、いまなんじ？

Nee, ima nan-ji?

Hey, what time is it?

あい

さんじじゅうごふんだよ！

San-ji jūgo-fun da yo!

It's 3:15!

[HOUR] じ [MINUTE] ふんだよ！

[number] ji [number] fun da yo!

[hour] o'clock [minute] -past — casual assertion

→ "It's [hour]:[minute]!" — casual time with だよ

りょう

えっ、もうそんなじかん？はやい！

E, mō sonna jikan? Hayai!

What?! Already that late? Time flies!

📋 Key Patterns & Cheatsheet ▼

Asking the time — register comparison

🔴 FORMAL

いまなんじでしょうか？

Ima nan-ji deshō ka?

What time is it now?

でしょうか is the most formal question ending — use at hotels, reception desks, with superiors.

🟢 STANDARD

いまなんじですか？

Ima nan-ji desu ka?

What time is it now?

ですか is the everyday polite ending. Safe in almost any situation.

🟡 CASUAL

いまなんじ？

Ima nan-ji?

What time is it?

Drop everything except the core. Rising intonation signals the question.

🕐 Note

いま

ima = now

often omitted

いま emphasises "right now." You can drop it when context is already clear.

Stating a specific time

STANDARD

[HOUR] じ [MINUTE] ふんです。

[number] ji [number] fun desu.

→ e.g. さんじじゅうごふんです。= "It is 3:15."

CASUAL

[HOUR] じ [MINUTE] ふんだよ！

[number] ji [number] fun da yo!

→ e.g. さんじじゅうごふんだよ！= "It's 3:15!"

Half past — じはん

🟢 STANDARD

じゅうじはんです。

Jūji han desu.

It is half past ten. (10:30)

はん (half) replaces minutes entirely. Simpler than さんじゅっぷん.

🕐 Pattern

[HOUR]じはん

[hour] ji han

[Hour] thirty

Works for any hour: ごじはん = 5:30, くじはん = 9:30. はん always means exactly 30.

AM and PM — ごぜん & ごご

🌅 ごぜん (gozen) — AM

ごぜんはちじです。

Gozen hachi-ji desu.

It is 8 AM.

Place ごぜん BEFORE the time: ごぜん + [time]. Not after.

🌇 ごご (gogo) — PM

ごごさんじです。

Gogo san-ji desu.

It is 3 PM.

Same position — before the time. Often omitted when context is clear.

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

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1 / 10

B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

C — Choose the Right Response

Listen to the question, then choose the most natural reply.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji. Japanese letters are not needed.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (じゅっぷん = juppun).

E — Shadowing Practice

Press ▶ to hear each line, say it aloud, then mark it as practised.

0 of 9 lines practised

📖 Grammar Notes ▼

Hours — number + じ (ji)

Attach じ (ji) to the Sino-Japanese number to state the hour. Three hours use non-obvious readings:

  • 1時いちじ   • 2時にじ   • 3時さんじ   • 4時よじ ← not よんじ!
  • 5時ごじ   • 6時ろくじ   • 7時しちじ   • 8時はちじ
  • 9時くじ ← not きゅうじ!   • 10時じゅうじ   • 11時じゅういちじ   • 12時じゅうにじ

⚠️ The two to memorise: 4時よじ, 9時くじ. 7時 is しちじ in standard usage (ななじ is also heard).

[NUMBER] じです。

[number] ji desu.

→ "It is [number] o'clock."

いまよじです。

Ima yo-ji desu.

It is 4 o'clock now.

Minutes — ふん and ぷん

The minute counter alternates between ふん (fun) and ぷん (pun) depending on the preceding number:

  • ぷん after: 1 (いっぷん), 3 (さんぷん), 4 (よんぷん), 6 (ろっぷん), 8 (はっぷん), 10 (じゅっぷん)
  • ふん after: 2 (にふん), 5 (ごふん), 7 (ななふん), 9 (きゅうふん)
  • 15分じゅうごふん   • 30分さんじゅっぷん (= はん)   • 45分よんじゅうごふん

[NUMBER] ふん / ぷん

[number] fun / pun

→ "[number] minutes" — choose ふん or ぷん based on the number

さんじじゅうごふんです。

San-ji jūgo-fun desu.

It is 3:15.

Half past — じはん

はん (han) means "half" and represents exactly 30 minutes. Attach it directly after じ to say "half past".

• ごじはん = 5:30 • じゅうじはん = 10:30 • くじはん = 9:30

This is shorter and more natural than じゅうじさんじゅっぷん. In conversation はん is strongly preferred for any half-hour time.

[HOUR] じはんです。

[number] ji han desu.

→ "It is [hour] thirty." (half past [hour])

じゅうじはんにはじまります。

Jūji han ni hajimarimasu.

It starts at half past ten.

AM and PM — ごぜん / ごご

When you need to clarify morning or afternoon, place one of these BEFORE the time expression:

• ごぜん (gozen) = AM, before noon (午前)
• ごご (gogo) = PM, after noon (午後)

Word order: ごごさんじ ✅ → さんじごご ❌
In natural speech AM/PM is often omitted — context (morning routine, evening plans) makes it obvious.

[ごぜん / ごご] [HOUR] じです。

[gozen / gogo] [number] ji desu.

→ "It is [AM/PM] [hour] o'clock."

ごごさんじでございます。

Gogo san-ji de gozaimasu.

It is 3 PM. (formal)

Asking "What time?" — でしょうか vs ですか

The core question word なんじ stays the same across all registers. Only the sentence ending changes the formality level:

  • FORMAL: いまなんじでしょうか？ — tentative, very humble
  • STANDARD: いまなんじですか？ — polite, everyday
  • CASUAL: いまなんじ？ — rising intonation only

でしょうか (deshō ka) implies "I wonder if you could tell me…" — more deferential than ですか.

いまなんじ [ENDING] ？

ima nan-ji [deshō ka / desu ka / —]

→ "What time is it?" — change only the ending to change register

すみません、いまなんじでしょうか？

Sumimasen, ima nan-ji deshō ka?

Excuse me, what time is it? (formal)

Time particle に — "at [time]"

に (ni) marks a specific point in time — equivalent to English "at". Attach it after the time expression.

  • じゅうじに = at ten o'clock
  • じゅうじはんに = at half past ten
  • さんじにあいましょう = Let's meet at three

⚠️ Do NOT use に with relative time words like きょう (today), あした (tomorrow), まいにち (every day) — those stand alone without に.

[TIME] にはじまります。

[time] ni hajimarimasu.

→ "It starts at [time]."

えいがはごじにはじまります。

Eiga wa go-ji ni hajimarimasu.

The film starts at five o'clock.

📚 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
じ	ji	o'clock / hour (counter)
ふん	fun	minute (counter)
ぷん	pun	minute (alternate form after 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10)
はん	han	half / 30 minutes
ごぜん	gozen	AM / morning (before noon)
ごご	gogo	PM / afternoon (after noon)
いま	ima	now
なんじ	nan-ji	what time
はじまる	hajimaru	to start / begin
わかりました	wakarimashita	I understand / got it
ちょうど	chōdo	exactly / just right
じかん	jikan	time
はやい	hayai	fast / early
よじ	yo-ji	4 o'clock (irregular — not よんじ)
くじ	ku-ji	9 o'clock (irregular — not きゅうじ)