Reading the Clock

Telling Time in Japanese

To read the clock in Japanese, you combine basic numbers with specific counter words for hours and minutes. The system is highly regular, though it requires memorizing a few phonetic changes.

Before starting, ensure you understand the basic numbers from 1 to 60. If you need a refresher, review the guide on Numbers in Japanese. Because expressing time relies on specific suffixes, it is also a practical introduction to Counting things in Japanese.

Hours (時)

To express the hour, add the suffix to the number. Most numbers use their standard On-reading, but pay close attention to 4, 7, and 9, which have specific exceptions when combined with the hour counter.

Note: For 4:00, use (yo-ji), not yon-ji or shi-ji. For 7:00, use (shichi-ji), not nana-ji. For 9:00, use (ku-ji), not kyuu-ji.

Minutes (分)

The counter for minutes is . Depending on the number it attaches to, the pronunciation alternates between and .

Here are the first ten minutes. This pattern repeats for all subsequent numbers (e.g., 11 uses the same ending as 1, 20 uses the same ending as 10).

To say numbers past 10, simply stack the tens and the single digits. For example, 15 minutes is , and 20 minutes is .

Half Past (半)

Instead of saying 30 minutes (), it is much more common to use the word for "half", which is .

You add this directly after the hour. For example, 4:30 is .

AM and PM

Japanese specifies morning and afternoon using for AM and for PM.

Unlike English, where AM and PM are placed at the end of the time, in Japanese, these markers always go before the time.

• 7:00 AM:
• 3:15 PM:
• 8:30 PM:

Asking the Time

To ask "What time is it now?" you use the word for "now" () combined with the question word for "what time" ().

(What time is it right now?)

If you want to ask the time in a specific location, place the location first, followed by the particle .

(What time is it in Tokyo right now?)