Meaning
To express a duration of time in Japanese, you use a number followed by a time unit and the suffix 間 (kan). Different time units have different patterns: hours use 時間 (jikan), minutes use 分 (fun/pun) with optional kan, days use 日 (nichi) with kan, weeks use 週間 (shuukan), months use か月 (kagetsu) with optional kan, and years use 年 (nen) with optional kan. The suffix 間 (kan) clarifies that you're talking about a duration rather than a specific time point, though it can often be omitted after hours and weeks without changing the meaning.
Formation
| Part of speech | Formation |
|---|---|
| 小时 | 数字＋じかん |
| 分钟 | 数字＋ふん／ぷん（かん） |
| 天 | 数字＋にち（かん） |
| 周 | 数字＋しゅうかん |
| 月 | 数字＋かげつ（かん） |
| 年 | 数字＋ねん（かん） |
Examples
-
いちねんかん
For one year; throughout a year -
ろっかげつ
For six months -
じゅっしゅうかん
For ten weeks -
ここのかかん
For nine days -
とおかかん
For ten days
Summary
- Use 間 (kan) after time units to indicate duration, especially for days, months, and years
- Some time units have irregular pronunciation patterns (e.g., 日 becomes いちにち, ふつか, みっか, よっか)
- The suffix 間 can be omitted after 時間 (hours) and 週間 (weeks) and sounds more natural without it