Telling time in Japanese isn't conceptually hard, but minutes have a ton of sound changes, and the days of the week follow a completely different order than English. This article covers hours, minutes, and days of the week all at once.
〜時: Hours
"O'clock" is expressed with 〜時 (じ). Most numbers just add じ directly, but 4 o'clock and 9 o'clock have special readings:
| Time | Japanese | Reading | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | 一時 | いちじ | |
| 2:00 | 二時 | にじ | |
| 3:00 | 三時 | さんじ | |
| 4:00 | 四時 | よじ | NOT しじ |
| 5:00 | 五時 | ごじ | |
| 6:00 | 六時 | ろくじ | |
| 7:00 | 七時 | しちじ | |
| 8:00 | 八時 | はちじ | |
| 9:00 | 九時 | くじ | NOT きゅうじ |
| 10:00 | 十時 | じゅうじ | |
| 11:00 | 十一時 | じゅういちじ | |
| 12:00 | 十二時 | じゅうにじ | |
| What time? | 何時 | なんじ |
Key points: 4 o'clock = よじ (not しじ), 9 o'clock = くじ (not きゅうじ).
〜分: Minutes
"Minutes" uses 〜分. The base reading is ふん, but certain numbers trigger double consonants and sound changes. The easiest way to learn this is with a table:
| Minutes | Japanese | Reading | Change Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 min | 一分 | いっぷん | double consonant + semi-voiced |
| 2 min | 二分 | にふん | no change |
| 3 min | 三分 | さんぷん | semi-voiced |
| 4 min | 四分 | よんぷん | semi-voiced |
| 5 min | 五分 | ごふん | no change |
| 6 min | 六分 | ろっぷん | double consonant + semi-voiced |
| 7 min | 七分 | ななふん | no change |
| 8 min | 八分 | はっぷん | double consonant + semi-voiced |
| 9 min | 九分 | きゅうふん | no change |
| 10 min | 十分 | じゅっぷん | double consonant + semi-voiced |
| How many min? | 何分 | なんぷん | semi-voiced |
Simplified rules:
- 1, 6, 8, 10 get a double consonant (っ) → いっぷん, ろっぷん, はっぷん, じゅっぷん
- 3, 4 also become semi-voiced → さんぷん, よんぷん
- 2, 5, 7, 9 stay unchanged → にふん, ごふん, ななふん, きゅうふん
Combining Tens and Units
Larger minute values follow the same pattern:
| Time | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 20 min | 二十分 | にじゅっぷん |
| 30 min | 三十分 | さんじゅっぷん |
| 36 min | 三十六分 | さんじゅうろっぷん |
| 58 min | 五十八分 | ごじゅうはっぷん |
For 58 minutes: fifty (ごじゅう) + eight minutes (はっぷん) → ごじゅうはっぷん. Note that "fifty" keeps its long vowel じゅう without adding a double consonant.
曜日: Days of the Week
The Japanese days of the week follow a completely different order than English:
| Day | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 日曜日 | にちようび |
| Monday | 月曜日 | げつようび |
| Tuesday | 火曜日 | かようび |
| Wednesday | 水曜日 | すいようび |
| Thursday | 木曜日 | もくようび |
| Friday | 金曜日 | きんようび |
| Saturday | 土曜日 | どようび |
| What day? | 何曜日 | なんようび |
The order is: 日 → 月 → 火 → 水 → 木 → 金 → 土 (Sun → Moon → Fire → Water → Wood → Gold → Earth).
Memory Tricks
Start with the easiest anchor points:
- Sunday = 日曜日 → 日 means "sun/day" — the most intuitive
- Monday = 月曜日 → 月 means "moon" — just like how Monday comes from "Moon day"
- Wednesday = 水曜日 → Think of "water" for the middle of the week
- Friday = 金曜日 → 金 means "gold" — TGIF, it's a golden day
- Fill in the rest: 火 (fire/Tuesday), 木 (wood/Thursday), 土 (earth/Saturday)
Practice the sequence: にち, げつ, か, すい, もく, きん, ど.
Using Them in Sentences
Asking what day it is:
今日は何曜日ですか。 → What day is today?
Answering:
今日は月曜日です。 → Today is Monday.
Asking the time:
今何時ですか。 → What time is it now?
Answering:
三時三十分です。 → It's 3:30.
Summary
- Hours = number + 時 (じ). 4 o'clock is よじ, 9 o'clock is くじ
- Minutes = number + 分. 1/6/8/10 get double consonants (っぷん), 3/4 get semi-voiced (ぷん), the rest stay as ふん
- Days of the week = 日月火水木金土 + 曜日. The sequence starts from Sunday
- Memory anchors: Sunday = 日 (sun), Monday = 月 (moon), Friday = 金 (gold)
Practice Questions
Q1. Say "4:36" in Japanese.
Show Answer
四時三十六分 (よじさんじゅうろっぷん)
4 o'clock = よじ (not しじ), 36 minutes = さんじゅうろっぷん (6 gets a double consonant).
Q2. What day of the week is 「水曜日」?
Show Answer
Wednesday.
日月火水木金土 → 日 (Sun), 月 (Mon), 火 (Tue), 水 (Wed). 水 means "water."
Q3. Say "It is 8:10 PM" in Japanese. (Hint: PM = 午後)
Show Answer
午後八時十分です。 (ごごはちじじゅっぷんです。)
午後 (PM) + 八時 (8 o'clock) + 十分 (じゅっぷん, 10 min has a double consonant) + です.