How to Tell Time in Japanese – Hours, Minutes, and Sound Changes

Knowing how to ask and answer questions about time is a must in Japanese. Whether you’re telling someone when you wake up, what time the train leaves, or when dinner is — it all starts with learning how to say the hour and minute correctly.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through:

How to say the hour in Japanese
How to say minutes, including common sound changes
Common patterns like "half past" and "around X o’clock"
Example sentences with real-life situations
Quick practice to check your skills

Let’s get into it! ⏰

1. Telling the Hour – Use ～じ (ji)

In Japanese, the word for “o’clock” is じ. Just attach it to the number to say the time.

Here are the basics:

1:00 → いちじ (ichiji)
2:00 → にじ (niji)
3:00 → さんじ (sanji)
4:00 → よじ (yoji) ← Not よんじ!
5:00 → ごじ (goji)
6:00 → ろくじ (rokuji)
7:00 → しちじ (shichiji) ← Not ななじ
8:00 → はちじ (hachiji)
9:00 → くじ (kuji) ← Not きゅうじ
10:00 → じゅうじ (juuji)
11:00 → じゅういちじ (juuichiji)
12:00 → じゅうにじ (juuniji)

⚠️ Sound tip: 4, 7, and 9 often change pronunciation when used with じ. Memorize よじ、しちじ、くじ as special cases.

2. Adding Minutes – Use ～ふん（分）or ～ぷん

To say things like “3:10” or “7:45,” just add the minute with ふん or ぷん after the number.

Here are common minute expressions:

5 minutes → ごふん
10 minutes → じゅっぷん
15 minutes → じゅうごふん
20 minutes → にじゅっぷん
30 minutes → さんじゅっぷん

🕧 Bonus: You can also say さんじはん (sanji han) for “3:30” — はん means “half past.”

⚠️ Sound tip: Just like with counters, some minutes use ぷん (with a p-sound) instead of ふん.

3. How to Say AM/PM in Japanese

ごぜん（午前）= AM
ごご（午後）= PM

Examples:

ごぜん 6じ → 6 a.m.
ごご 3じはん → 3:30 p.m.

Buuuuut....

Japan likes the 24-hour format for time

Did you know Japan often uses what US folks call "military time" (or 24-hour time)? It might take some getting used to it, but this is very common and clearer than emailing someone "6:00" and expect them to think it's PM (because they might think is 6AM - way too early).

For example:

13:00 = 1pm
14:00 = 2pm
22:00 = 10pm
25:00 = ...1 am the next day! Yes, you see this sometimes for karaoke.

4. Useful Time Phrases

You’ll often hear these phrases with times:

はん → half past
ごろ → around (used after the time)
ちょうど → exactly

Examples:

8じごろにでかけます。→ I leave around 8.
7じちょうど にはじまります。→ It starts exactly at 7.
ごご 5じはんにあいましょう。→ Let’s meet at 5:30 p.m.

5. Practice Time!

Try figuring these out:

How do you say “4:00” (watch out!)
→ よじ

What’s “7:15”?
→ しちじじゅうごふん

Say “I wake up at 6:30 a.m.”
→ ごぜん 6じはんにおきます。

How do you say “around 10 o’clock”?
→ 10じごろ

Translate: "The class starts at 9:00."
→ 9じにクラスがはじまります。

6. Real-Life Example Sentences

Here’s how you’ll hear time expressions in action:

あさ 7じにおきます。
→ I wake up at 7 a.m.
ごご 1じにひるごはんをたべます。
→ I eat lunch at 1 p.m.
6じはんにうちにかえります。
→ I go home at 6:30.
9じちょうどにテストがはじまります。
→ The test starts exactly at 9:00.

Quick Review

Use ～じ for hours and ～ふん / ～ぷん for minutes
Watch for tricky readings like よじ, くじ, しちじ
さんじはん = 3:30
Use ごぜん and ごご for AM/PM, but remember that much of Japan will show times in 24-hour format.
ごろ adds the meaning “around that time”