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”