Hours and minutes with 時 and 分

The idea

Say the hour before the minutes: 七時五分 is 7:05. Four, seven and nine o’clock are よじ, しちじ and くじ. Minute readings include いっぷん, さんぷん, よんぷん and ろっぷん; 四分 may also be よんふん, 八分 はっぷん or はちふん, and 十分 じゅっぷん or じっぷん. 三時半 is 3:30. Ask 何時（なんじ） or 何分（なんぷん）.

Examples

• 授業じゅぎょうは四時よじに始はじまります。Class begins at four o’clock.
• 七時しちじ五分ごふんに起おきます。I get up at 7:05.
• 午後ごご九時くじ十分じゅっぷんに帰かえります。I return at 9:10 p.m.
• 電車でんしゃは二時にじ三分さんぷんに来きます。The train comes at 2:03.
• 今いまは三時さんじ半はんです。It is 3:30 now.
• 駅えきまで六分ろっぷんかかります。It takes six minutes to reach the station.

Watch out

時 in 四時 names a clock time; 四時間 is a four-hour duration. 分 can express minutes past the hour or a duration. 十分 can also mean “sufficient” and then reads じゅうぶん.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading in hiragana: 四時

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   よじ

   四時 is よじ: four o’clock uses よ, not よん.

2. Write the reading in hiragana: 三分

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   さんぷん

   三分 is さんぷん: the counter begins with ぷん after 三.

3. Write the reading in hiragana: 何分

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   なんぷん

   何分 is なんぷん and asks for a number of minutes.

Use it today

Read two times from a timetable, then say how many minutes it takes to reach a nearby place.