{"id":1166,"date":"2025-11-12T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/?p=1166"},"modified":"2025-10-31T02:59:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T02:59:30","slug":"from-ji-to-fun-telling-time-in-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/japanese\/from-ji-to-fun-telling-time-in-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"From \u201cJi\u201d to \u201cFun\u201d: Telling Time in Japanese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n Mastering time expressions in Japanese is one of the most useful early skills. Whether you\u2019re reading a train timetable,\n planning a meeting, or checking when a show starts, knowing how to say hours and minutes pays off every day.\n <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break it down step by step.<\/p>\n\n

\n
\n

The Basics: Hours and Minutes<\/h2>\n

Time is expressed as number + counter<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u6642<\/strong> (ji<\/em>) for hours<\/li>\n
  • \u5206<\/strong> (fun\/pun<\/em>) for minutes<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n\n
    \n

    Hours (\u6642 \/ ji)<\/h2>\n

    Irregular readings to watch:<\/strong> 4 \u2192 yo-ji<\/em>, 7 \u2192 shichi-ji<\/em> (nana-ji<\/em> is also common), 9 \u2192 ku-ji<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

    \n
    \n \n \n \n \n
    Hour (o\u2019clock)<\/th>\n Kanji<\/th>\n Reading<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
    1<\/td>\uff11\u6642<\/td>ichi-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    2<\/td>\uff12\u6642<\/td>ni-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    3<\/td>\uff13\u6642<\/td>san-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    4<\/td>\uff14\u6642<\/td>yo-ji (not yon-ji)<\/td><\/tr>\n
    5<\/td>\uff15\u6642<\/td>go-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    6<\/td>\uff16\u6642<\/td>roku-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    7<\/td>\uff17\u6642<\/td>shichi-ji (nana-ji also used)<\/td><\/tr>\n
    8<\/td>\uff18\u6642<\/td>hachi-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    9<\/td>\uff19\u6642<\/td>ku-ji (not ky\u016b-ji for hours)<\/td><\/tr>\n
    10<\/td>\uff11\uff10\u6642<\/td>juu-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    11<\/td>\uff11\uff11\u6642<\/td>juuichi-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n
    12<\/td>\uff11\uff12\u6642<\/td>juuni-ji<\/td><\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n
    \n

    Minutes (\u5206 \/ fun<\/em>, pun<\/em>)<\/h2>\n\n

    What causes fun<\/em> \u2192 pun<\/em>?<\/h3>\n

    \n It\u2019s not \u9023\u6fc1<\/strong> (rendaku). The changes come from \u4fc3\u97f3\u5316<\/strong> (sokuonka, gemination with small \u3063) plus the use of\n \u534a\u6fc1\u97f3<\/strong> (the p-series) with certain numbers.\n <\/p>\n

    Examples:<\/strong> \uff11\u5206\uff1d\u3044\u3063\u3077\u3093 (ippun), \uff16\u5206\uff1d\u308d\u3063\u3077\u3093 (roppun), \uff18\u5206\uff1d\u306f\u3063\u3077\u3093 (happun).<\/p>\n\n \n \n \n \n
    Minutes<\/th>\n Reading<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
    1<\/td>ippun<\/td><\/tr>\n
    2<\/td>ni-fun<\/td><\/tr>\n
    3<\/td>san-pun<\/td><\/tr>\n
    4<\/td>yon-pun<\/td><\/tr>\n
    5<\/td>go-fun<\/td><\/tr>\n
    6<\/td>roppun<\/td><\/tr>\n
    7<\/td>nana-fun (also shichi-fun)<\/td><\/tr>\n
    8<\/td>happun (also hachi-fun)<\/td><\/tr>\n
    9<\/td>kyuu-fun<\/td><\/tr>\n
    10<\/td>juppun (also jippun)<\/td><\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n <\/table>\n\n

    Helpful memory cue<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • fun<\/strong> with 2, 5, 7, 9<\/strong> \u2192 ni-fun, go-fun, nana-fun, kyuu-fun<\/em><\/li>\n
    • pun<\/strong> with 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10<\/strong> \u2192 ippun, san-pun, yon-pun, roppun, happun, juppun<\/em><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/section>\n\n
      \n

      Saying the Full Time<\/h2>\n

      Combine hour + minute<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

      \n

      \uff13\u6642\uff11\uff15\u5206 \u2192 san-ji juu-go-fun<\/strong> (\u201c3:15\u201d)<\/p>\n

      \uff17\u6642\u534a \u2192 shichi-ji han<\/strong> (\u201c7:30\u201d)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

      \n \u534a<\/strong> (han<\/em>) means \u201chalf past\u201d and replaces \uff13\uff10\u5206<\/strong> in casual statements.\n <\/p>\n <\/section>\n\n

      \n

      A.M. and P.M.<\/h2>\n

      Place \u5348\u524d<\/strong> (gozen<\/em>) = A.M. or \u5348\u5f8c<\/strong> (gogo<\/em>) = P.M. before the time:<\/p>\n

      \n

      \u5348\u524d\uff16\u6642 \u2192 gozen roku-ji<\/strong> (6 a.m.)<\/p>\n

      \u5348\u5f8c\uff13\u6642 \u2192 gogo san-ji<\/strong> (3 p.m.)<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n

      \n

      Asking the Time<\/h2>\n

      \u4eca\u4f55\u6642\u3067\u3059\u304b\uff1f<\/strong> \u2192 Ima nan-ji desu ka?<\/em>
      \u201cWhat time is it now?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/section>\n\n

      \n

      Quick Practice<\/h2>\n
      \n

      8:10 \u2192 \uff18\u6642\uff11\uff10\u5206 \u2192 hachi-ji juppun<\/strong><\/p>\n

      12:45 \u2192 \uff11\uff12\u6642\uff14\uff15\u5206 \u2192 juuni-ji yonjuu-go-fun<\/strong><\/p>\n

      2:30 p.m. \u2192 \u5348\u5f8c\uff12\u6642\u534a \u2192 gogo ni-ji han<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n

      \n

      Last Tips<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • Practice the hours first, then add common minute forms (5, 10, 15, 30).<\/li>\n
      • Pay close attention to pun\/fun shifts\u2014listening to native audio helps.<\/li>\n
      • Read bus and train timetables or set your phone to Japanese to see times in context.<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n

        Mastering these patterns boosts everyday communication\u2014from timetables to meetings\u2014minute by minute.<\/p>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Mastering time expressions in Japanese is one of the most useful early skills. Whether you\u2019re reading a train timetable, planning a meeting, or checking when a show starts, knowing how to say hours and minutes pays off every day. Let\u2019s break it down step by step. The Basics: Hours and Minutes Time is expressed as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1168,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions\/1168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}