LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Talking to real people · Sep 13, 2026

How to tell time in Japanese: とき, ふん, and the readings that break

Telling time in Japanese is two counters — とき for the hour and ふん for the minute — plus about eight irregular readings you simply have to memorise. The one that costs real money is 3とき versus 3時間じかん: three o'clock and three hours are not the same word.

Numbers feel like the safe part of a language, which is exactly why this catches people. You can count to a hundred perfectly and still say よんじ for four o'clock, which is not a word.

The basics

The hours — and the three that break

Hour Reading Hour Reading
1とき いちじ 7とき しちじ
2とき にじ 8とき はちじ
3とき さんじ 9とき くじ
4とき よじ 10とき じゅうじ
5とき ごじ 11とき じゅういちじ
6とき ろくじ 12とき じゅうにじ

Three to memorise: 4とき = よじ (never よんじ), 7とき = しちじ, 9とき = くじ (never きゅうじ).

いま、3ときです。 — It's three o'clock. 9ときいましょう。 — Let's meet at nine.

The minutes and their sound changes

ふん is read ふん or ぷん depending on the number, following the same pattern as other counters: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10 take ぷん.

Min Reading Min Reading
1ふん いっぷん 6ふん ろっぷん
2ふん にふん 7ふん ななふん
3ふん さんぷん 8ふん はっぷん
4ふん よんぷん 9ふん きゅうふん
5ふん ごふん 10ふん じゅっぷん

7とき15ふんです。 — It's 7:15. (しちじ じゅうごふん) 8とき40ふんます。 — I'm leaving at 8:40.

はん is half past, and it is easier than the minutes

7時半じはん — Half past seven. 12時半じはんひるめしべます。 — I eat lunch at half past twelve.

はん never changes sound and never takes ふん. It is the one part of this that is purely easy, so use it wherever you can.

午前ごぜん and 午後ごご go before the time

This is the reverse of English, and it is the most common structural mistake.

✗ 3とき午後ごご 午後ごご午後ごご3とき — 3 PM. ○ 午前ごぜん7とききます。 — I get up at 7 AM.

In conversation, though, Japanese usually skips them entirely and uses time-of-day words instead: あさ7とき ("seven in the morning"), よる8とき ("eight at night"), ひるの1とき ("one in the afternoon"). 午前ごぜん/午後ごご sound formal — timetables, announcements, business.

Beyond the basics

3とき and 3時間じかん are not the same word

This is the one that actually causes misunderstandings.

3ときいましょう。 — Let's meet at three o'clock. 3時間じかんかかります。 — It takes three hours.

とき is a point on the clock. 時間じかん is a length of time. Saying 3ときかかります would be telling someone the task takes "three o'clock," which is not a thing.

Duration counters follow the same pattern across the board: 一日いちにち (one day) vs 一日いちにちあいだ, 二週間にしゅうかん (two weeks), 三ヶ月さんかげつ (three months), 四年よねんあいだ (four years). Minutes are the exception — 5ふん covers both "five past" and "five minutes' duration," with context deciding.

The に rule: specific times take it, relative times do not

Attach に to a time on the clock or the calendar. Do not attach it to words like today, tomorrow, now, or every day.

3とききます。 — I'll go at three. ○ 月曜日げつようびきます。 — I'll go on Monday. .✗ 明日あしたきます。 。○ 明日あしたきます。 — I'll go tomorrow.

The test: if the word tells you a fixed point on a clock or calendar, it takes に. If it is relative to now — 今日きょう, 明日あした, 昨日きのう, いま, 毎日まいにち, 来週らいしゅう — it does not. 今週末こんしゅうまつ and 来月らいげつ are in the second group too, which surprises people.

Asking the time, and asking about a time

Two different questions, one particle apart.

いま何時なんじですか。 — What time is it now? 何時なんじいますか。 — What time shall we meet? 何時なんじから何時なんじまでですか。 — From what time to what time?

何時なんじ is built the same way as every other question word, and 何時間なんじかん asks about duration: 何時間なんじかんかかりますか ("how many hours does it take?").

Making an appointment

The time words become useful the moment you attach them to a plan. These four shapes cover almost every scheduling conversation:

何時なんじがいいですか。 — What time works for you? 3ときからでもいいですか。 — Would three onwards be all right? 1時間じかんぐらいかかります。 — It'll take about an hour. 10とき予約よやくしました。 — I booked it for ten.

Note 3ときから — から and まで attach to times exactly as they do to places, which makes 〜から〜まで one of the most reusable frames you have: 9ときから5ときまではたらきます ("I work from nine to five").

And when you need to move something, 〜に変更へんこう is the word: 4とき変更へんこうできますか ("could we change it to four?").

Approximate and precise

3ときごろ。 — Around three. (ごろ — for points in time) 3時間じかんぐらい。 — About three hours. (ぐらい/くらい — for amounts) 3ときちょうど。 — Exactly three. 3とき5分前ふんまえ — Five to three. 3とき5ふんぎ。 — Just after three.

ごろ versus ぐらい is worth keeping straight: ごろ attaches to a point in time, ぐらい to a quantity or duration. 3ときごろ ("around three o'clock"), 3時間じかんぐらい ("about three hours").

あと and 〜まえ: in ten minutes, ten minutes ago

Attach あと (ご) or まえ (まえ) to a duration and you get relative time, which is what most conversation actually needs.

10分後ふんごます。 — I'm leaving in ten minutes. 30分前ふんまえきました。 — I arrived thirty minutes ago. 2時間後じかんご電話でんわします。 — I'll call in two hours.

Note that these attach to durations (時間じかん, ふん, にち), not to clock times — 3ときあと is not a sentence. And まえ has the same double life as English "before": 3時前じまえ means "before three o'clock," while 3時間前じかんまえ means "three hours ago."

The everyday versions are すぐ ("right away"), あとで ("later") and さっき ("just now"), and they carry far more conversation than any exact figure: あと電話でんわします is what people actually say.

How does it sound in anime and real life?

Short forms dominate, and はん does a lot of work:

何時なんじ集合しゅうごう — What time are we meeting? (casual) 7時半じはんね。 — Half seven, then. もうこんな時間じかん — Look at the time. (literally "already this time") 時間じかんないよ。 — There's no time.

もうこんな時間じかん is the standard thing to say when you realise you have stayed too long, and it is far more natural than announcing the actual number.

午前ごぜん0とき and 正午しょうご: the two edges

Midnight and noon have their own words, and the ordinary numbers get slippery around them.

正午しょうご(しょうご) — noon. 午前ごぜん0とき — midnight, in official writing. 深夜しんや2とき — 2 AM. (literally "deep night two") 夜中よなかめた。 — I woke up in the middle of the night.

深夜しんや is the useful one: it covers roughly midnight to dawn and is how timetables label late trains. You will also see venues advertising hours like 25とき rather than 深夜しんや1とき — same moment, different convention, and both are normal.

Common mistakes

  • よんじ for 4とき. It is よじ. Likewise くじ for 9とき, not きゅうじ.
  • 3ときかかります. Duration needs 時間じかん: 3時間じかんかかります.
  • 明日あしたきます. Relative time words take no に. 明日あしたきます.
  • 3とき午後ごご. 午前ごぜん and 午後ごご come first: 午後ごご3とき.
  • いちふん, さんふん. The sound changes are いっぷん, さんぷん, よんぷん, ろっぷん, はっぷん, じゅっぷん.
  • Using 午前ごぜん午後ごご in casual conversation. They sound like a timetable. Say あさ7とき or よる8とき instead.

Practice

Answers are hidden — build yours first, then open. Questions 5 and 6 are a pair: one character apart, and the meaning changes completely.

1. Read 4とき out loud.

Show answer

よじ — never よんじ. Along with くじ (9とき) and しちじ (7とき), this is one of the three hour readings you have to memorise.

2. Read 9とき out loud.

Show answer

くじ — not きゅうじ. If you say きゅうじ you will be understood, but it is not the standard reading.

3. Read 8ふん out loud.

Show answer

はっぷん — 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10 take ぷん. 2, 5, 7 and 9 take ふん.

4. Say "half past seven."

Show answer

7時半じはんはん never changes sound and never takes ふん. Use it wherever you can.

5. Say "let's meet at three o'clock."

Show answer

3ときいましょうとき is a point on the clock, and a specific time takes に.

6. Say "it takes three hours."

Show answer

3時間じかんかかります — duration needs 時間じかん, not とき. This is the pair to question 5: one character, and the sentence goes from a meeting time to a length of time.

7. Something is wrong here: 明日あしたきます。

Show answer

明日あしたきます — relative time words (今日きょう, 明日あした, いま, 毎日まいにち, 来週らいしゅう) take no に. Fixed points on a clock or calendar do.

8. Say "3 PM."

Show answer

午後ごご3とき午前ごぜん and 午後ごご come before the time, the reverse of English. In conversation, ひるの3とき is more natural.

9. What is the difference between 3ときごろ and 3時間じかんぐらい?

Show answer

ごろ is for points in time, ぐらい for amounts — 3ときごろ is "around three o'clock"; 3時間じかんぐらい is "about three hours."

10. Ask how many hours something takes.

Show answer

何時間なんじかんかかりますか何時なんじ asks the clock time, 何時間なんじかん asks the duration. The same とき時間じかん split as questions 5 and 6.

FAQ

Is 7とき ever read ななじ? You will hear it, especially when someone is being careful to avoid confusion with 1とき over the phone, but しちじ is the standard reading. Produce しちじ and recognise ななじ.

How do I say "from 9 to 5"? 9ときから5ときまで. から and まで work for times exactly as they do for places, and 〜から〜まで is one of the most reusable frames in Japanese.

Does Japan use the 24-hour clock? On timetables, tickets and official schedules, yes — 18とき (じゅうはちじ). In speech people use 12-hour time with あさひるよる attached. Bars and late-night venues sometimes go past 24, so 25とき means 1 AM.

What about "o'clock sharp"? ちょうど: 3ときちょうど ("exactly three"). It can also go first — ちょうど3ときです ("it's just gone three"). Both are natural.

Are the minute sound changes really necessary? Yes. いちふん and さんふん are not words, in the same way "a three-o'clock" is not English. The pattern is identical to ほん and はい, so you are only learning it once.

How do I say "every day at seven"? 毎日まいにち7ときに. 毎日まいにち takes no に but 7とき does, so both rules apply in the same sentence — which is a useful thing to say out loud a few times until it feels normal.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

時	じ — o'clock
分	ふん — minute
半	はん — half past
時間	じかん — hour (duration); time
4時	よじ — four o'clock
7時	しちじ — seven o'clock
9時	くじ — nine o'clock
1分	いっぷん — one minute
8分	はっぷん — eight minutes
午前	ごぜん — AM
午後	ごご — PM
何時	なんじ — what time
何時間	なんじかん — how many hours
朝	あさ — morning
昼	ひる — noon, daytime
夜	よる — night
今	いま — now
明日	あした — tomorrow
毎日	まいにち — every day
月曜日	げつようび — Monday
起きる	おきる — to get up
出る	でる — to leave, to go out
会う	あう — to meet
かかる	かかる — to take (time)
ちょうど	ちょうど — exactly
ごろ	ごろ — around (a point in time)
ぐらい	ぐらい — about (an amount)

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime. Numbers feel safe, which is why 3とき and 3時間じかん slip past for so long — and it is the one mistake here that can actually make someone wait for you at the wrong time.

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Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5

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