Chapter 16 — Time: Clock, Calendar, Routine

Time in Japanese requires learning several independent systems: hours, minutes, days of the week, months, and days of the month. The first four are straightforward. The fifth — days of the month — is one of the most irregular areas in the entire language. There is no way around it: you must memorize the forms.

This chapter also introduces frequency adverbs and relative time expressions, which will let you describe daily routines, weekly schedules, and habitual actions. By the end, you will be able to say when something happens, how often it happens, and at approximately what time it happens.

16.1 Telling Time — ～じ

To express the hour, attach じ to the number. じ comes from 時, the kanji for "time" or "hour."

Two sound changes demand attention:

4:00 is よじ, not よんじ. The reading よ (not よん) is used before じ. This is the same pattern you saw with よにん (four people) — certain counters prefer the shorter よ.

9:00 is くじ, not きゅうじ. The reading く is used, not きゅう. This is simply a fixed form that must be memorized.

7:00 can be either しちじ or ななじ. しちじ is the standard form, but ななじ is sometimes used to avoid confusion with いちじ (1:00), since しち and いち sound similar over the phone or in noisy environments.

AM and PM

Japanese marks morning and afternoon by placing ごぜん (午前, AM) or ごご (午後, PM) before the time:

ごぜん くじ = 9:00 AM ごご さんじ = 3:00 PM ごぜん ろくじ = 6:00 AM ごご じゅうにじ = 12:00 PM (noon)

The order is always ごぜん/ごご first, then the time. Do not place them after the time.

Asking the Time

今いま なんじですか。 = What time is it now?

The answer:

今 ごご にじです。 = It is 2:00 PM now.

なんじ means "what hour." It is the question word for clock time.

16.2 Minutes — ～ふん / ～ぷん

Minutes are expressed with ふん (分). However, the initial consonant of ふん changes depending on the number that precedes it. This follows the same phonological pattern you learned with counters in Chapter 7: numbers ending in certain sounds cause ふ to harden to ぷ.

Here is the complete table from 1 to 10 minutes:

Notice the pattern. The numbers that cause っ doubling (1, 6, 8, 10) also force ふ → ぷ. The number 3, which ends in ん, also forces ふ → ぷ. And 4 (よん), which also ends in ん, does the same.

For larger minute values, the same rules apply to the ones digit:

はん — Half Past

はん means "half" and indicates 30 minutes past the hour. It is extremely common in daily speech:

さんじはん = 3:30 しちじはん = 7:30 じゅうにじはん = 12:30

はん is simpler and more natural than さんじ さんじゅっぷん in conversation, just as "half past three" is simpler than "three thirty" in some varieties of English.

Putting It Together

A complete time expression follows this order:

ごぜん/ごご + [hour]じ + [minutes]ふん/ぷん

ごぜん しちじ じゅうごふん = 7:15 AM ごご よじ よんじゅうごふん = 4:45 PM ごぜん くじはん = 9:30 AM

なんぷん — How Many Minutes?

いま なんじ なんぷんですか。 = What time and how many minutes is it now?

In practice, なんじですか alone is more common. The speaker will give the full time including minutes in their answer.

16.3 Days of the Week — ～ようび

The seven days of the week are formed from the kanji you learned in Chapter 4 — 日, 月, 火, 水, 木, 金, 土 — plus ようび (曜日).

The kanji 日, 月, 火, 水, 木, 金, 土 represent Sun, Moon, Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth. This is the same system found in many East Asian calendars and shares roots with the Western planetary naming convention (Sunday = Sun, Monday = Moon, Saturday = Saturn/土星).

Asking the Day

今日きょうは なんようびですか。 = What day is it today? 今日は もくようびです。 = Today is Thursday.

The particle は marks きょう as the topic. なんようび is the question word for the day of the week.

Using Days of the Week with に

When you say something happens on a particular day of the week, you use the particle に:

げつようびに 日本語にほんごの クラスが あります。 = On Monday, there is a Japanese class. きんようびに 友達ともだちと 映画えいがを 見みます。 = On Friday, I will watch a movie with a friend. どようびに 買かい物ものを します。 = On Saturday, I will go shopping.

16.4 Months — ～がつ

The twelve months are formed by placing the number before がつ (月). This is one of the most regular systems in Japanese time vocabulary.

Three months use readings you must watch for:

四月 is しがつ. Not よんがつ. The し reading of 四 is used.

七月 is しちがつ. Not なながつ. The しち reading of 七 is used. (なながつ is sometimes heard in casual speech but is not standard.)

九月 is くがつ. Not きゅうがつ. The く reading of 九 is used.

These are the same three numbers (4, 7, 9) that frequently use their alternate readings in time-related contexts. The pattern is consistent: when counting time (hours, months), 4 prefers し/よ, 7 prefers しち, and 9 prefers く.

Asking the Month

なんがつですか。 = What month is it? しがつです。 = It is April.

16.5 Days of the Month — ～にち

This is the difficult part. The first ten days of the month use native Japanese (やまとことば) number readings that are completely irregular. They must be memorized one by one, the same way you memorized ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ in Chapter 7. In fact, they come from the same counting system — you will recognize the roots.

Compare these with the ～つ counter: ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ, よっつ, いつつ, むっつ, ななつ, やっつ, ここのつ, とお. The roots are visibly related. ふつか shares the ふた- of ふたつ. みっか shares the みっ- of みっつ. よっか shares the よっ- of よっつ. Seeing these connections may help with memorization, but they are not perfectly predictable — ついたち does not obviously relate to ひとつ, and ようか does not obviously relate to やっつ.

ついたち (1日) deserves special comment. It originally meant "the standing of the moon" (月立ち), referring to the first appearance of the new moon at the beginning of the month. It is the most irregular form in the set and the one most frequently tested.

Days 11 through 31

From the 11th onward, most days use the regular Sino-Japanese number + にち:

Three exceptions survive beyond the first ten:

14日 is じゅうよっか. The よっか from 4日 persists.

20日 is はつか. This is a unique reading with no obvious derivation from the regular pattern. It must simply be memorized.

24日 is にじゅうよっか. Again, よっか persists from 4日.

Every other day above 10 is regular: number + にち.

Asking the Date

今日きょうは なんにちですか。 = What is today's date (day of the month)? 今日は じゅうごにちです。 = Today is the 15th.

To ask both month and day:

今日は なんがつ なんにちですか。 = What month and day is today? しがつ ついたちです。 = It is April 1st.

Dates with に

When saying something happens on a specific date, use に:

さんがつ みっかに 試験しけんが あります。 = There is an exam on March 3rd. じゅうにがつ にじゅうごにちに 日本にほんに 行いきます。 = I will go to Japan on December 25th.

16.6 Relative Time Words

Japanese has a set of words for expressing time relative to the present. These are among the most frequently used time words in daily conversation.

Days

Weeks

Months

Years

The pattern for weeks, months, and years is transparent: せん- (previous), こん- (current), らい- (next). The days do not follow this pattern — きのう, きょう, あした are separate words that must be memorized individually.

Relative Time Words Do Not Take に

This is an important grammar point. Specific dates and days of the week take the particle に to mark when something happens:

げつようびに 勉強べんきょうします。 = I will study on Monday. さんがつ みっかに 行いきます。 = I will go on March 3rd.

But relative time words — きょう, あした, きのう, らいしゅう, こんげつ, etc. — do not take に:

明日あした 勉強します。 = I will study tomorrow. (not 明日に) 来週らいしゅう 行きます。 = I will go next week. (not 来週に) 昨日きのう 映画えいがを 見みました。 = I watched a movie yesterday. (not 昨日に)

The rule is this: words that express time relative to the present moment do not need に, because their temporal reference is already inherent in the word itself. A specific date like 三月三日 could refer to any year, so に anchors it. But あした can only mean tomorrow — it needs no anchoring.

16.7 ごろ — "Around, Approximately" (for Points in Time)

ごろ attaches to a specific point in time to mean "around" or "approximately":

しちじごろ = around 7 o'clock くじはんごろ = around 9:30 さんがつごろ = around March ごぜん ろくじごろに 起おきます。 = I wake up around 6:00 AM.

ごろ is used only with points in time — clock times, months, dates. It is not used with durations or quantities.

ごろ vs. ぐらい

ぐらい (also written くらい) is used with durations and quantities — amounts of time, distances, numbers:

さんじかんぐらい = about 3 hours にじゅっぷんぐらい = about 20 minutes ごにんぐらい = about 5 people

The distinction is clean:

Note the pair じ (hour on the clock) vs. じかん (duration in hours). さんじ is 3 o'clock (a point). さんじかん is 3 hours (a duration). This distinction matters for choosing ごろ vs. ぐらい.

16.8 Frequency Adverbs

To describe how often something happens, Japanese uses a set of frequency adverbs. These typically appear before the verb.

Affirmative Frequency Adverbs

いつも しちじに 起おきます。 = I always wake up at 7:00. よく 公園こうえんで 走はしります。 = I often run in the park. ときどき 映画えいがを 見みます。 = I sometimes watch movies. たまに レストランで 食たべます。 = I occasionally eat at a restaurant.

Negative Frequency Adverbs

Two adverbs are specifically paired with negative predicates:

あまり + negative = not very often, not very much

あまり 魚さかなを 食べません。 = I do not eat fish very often. あまり テレビを 見ません。 = I do not watch TV very much.

ぜんぜん + negative = not at all, never

ぜんぜん お酒さけを 飲のみません。 = I do not drink alcohol at all. ぜんぜん 運動うんどうを しません。 = I do not exercise at all.

These two adverbs require negative predicates. You cannot say あまり たべます or ぜんぜん のみます — these are grammatically wrong. あまり and ぜんぜん are inherently negative in meaning and must be completed by a negative verb, adjective, or copula.

Position in the Sentence

Frequency adverbs are flexible in placement, but they most naturally appear before the verb phrase:

わたしは いつも ろくじに 起きます。 わたしは 朝あさご飯はんを よく 食べます。 やまださんは お酒を ぜんぜん 飲みません。

They can also appear at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis:

ときどき、図書館としょかんで 勉強べんきょうします。 = Sometimes I study at the library.

16.9 Reading Passage — ゆきさんの 一週間いっしゅうかん

Read the following passage about Yuki's weekly schedule. All grammar and vocabulary should be accessible with what you have learned through this chapter.

わたしは 大学生だいがくせいです。いつも ごぜん ろくじはんごろに 起おきます。朝あさご飯はんは たいてい パンと コーヒーです。

げつようびと すいようびと きんようびに 日本語にほんごの 授業じゅぎょうが あります。授業は ごぜん くじから じゅうじはんまでです。そのあと、図書館としょかんで にじかんぐらい 勉強べんきょうします。昼ひるご飯は じゅうにじごろに 学食がくしょくで 食たべます。

かようびと もくようびは 授業が ありません。かようびに よく スーパーで 買かい物ものを します。もくようびは たいてい うちで レポートを 書かきます。ときどき 友達ともだちと カフェで 勉強します。

きんようびの 夜よるは 友達と 晩ばんご飯を 食べます。よく 駅えきの 近ちかくの レストランに 行いきます。

どようびの ごぜんに アルバイトが あります。アルバイトは くじから ごご いちじまでです。ごごは 暇ひまです。たまに 映画えいがを 見みます。

にちようびは いつも 遅おそく 起きます。じゅうじごろに 起きて、ゆっくり 朝ご飯を 食べます。ごごは 来週らいしゅうの 準備じゅんびを します。ぜんぜん 遊あそびません。

わたしは 毎日まいにち 忙いそがしいですが、きんようびの 夜が いちばん たのしいです。

訳 (Translation)

I am a university student. I always wake up around 6:30 AM. Breakfast is usually bread and coffee.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I have Japanese class. Class is from 9:00 AM to 10:30. After that, I study at the library for about two hours. I eat lunch around noon at the school cafeteria.

On Tuesday and Thursday, I do not have class. On Tuesday, I often go grocery shopping at the supermarket. On Thursday, I usually write reports at home. Sometimes I study with friends at a cafe.

On Friday evening, I eat dinner with friends. We often go to a restaurant near the station.

On Saturday morning, I have a part-time job. The part-time job is from 9:00 to 1:00 PM. The afternoon is free. I occasionally watch a movie.

On Sunday, I always wake up late. I wake up around 10:00 and eat breakfast slowly. In the afternoon, I prepare for the coming week. I do not hang out at all.

I am busy every day, but Friday evening is the most fun.

Notes on the Passage

Several structures in this passage deserve comment:

から...まで = "from...to." This marks a starting point and ending point. くじから じゅうじはんまで = from 9:00 to 10:30. You will see this pattern with time, places, and other ranges.

そのあと = "after that." その (that) + あと (after). A useful connector for describing sequences of events.

たいてい = "usually." This is another frequency adverb, sitting between いつも (always) and よく (often) in frequency. It was not listed in Section 16.8 to keep that section focused, but it is common and worth knowing.

毎日まいにち = "every day." Like other relative time words, it does not take に.

いちばん = "most, number one." This creates superlatives: いちばん たのしい = the most fun.

Reading Passage 2 — 日本にほんの 学校がっこうの 一日いちにち

日本の 学校は ごぜん はちじはんに 始はじまります。生徒せいとは はちじごろに 学校に きます。毎朝まいあさ、教室きょうしつで 先生せんせいに あいさつを します。

いちじかんめは はちじはんから くじじゅうごふんまでです。にじかんめは くじにじゅうごふんから じゅうじじゅっぷんまでです。ごぜんちゅうに よんじかん 授業じゅぎょうが あります。

じゅうにじに 昼休ひるやすみです。生徒は 教室で お弁当べんとうを 食たべます。友達ともだちと たのしく 話はなします。昼休みは いちじまでです。

ごごにも 授業が あります。さんじはんごろに 授業が 終おわります。そのあと、部活ぶかつが あります。野球やきゅうや サッカーや テニスを します。音楽おんがくの 部活も あります。部活は ろくじごろまでです。

生徒は 毎日まいにち 忙いそがしいです。でも、部活は とても たのしいです。日本の 生徒は 部活が 大好だいすきです。

Translation

Japanese school starts at 8:30 AM. Students come to school around 8:00. Every morning, they greet the teacher in the classroom.

First period is from 8:30 to 9:15. Second period is from 9:25 to 10:10. There are four hours of class in the morning.

At noon it is lunch break. Students eat boxed lunches in the classroom. They chat happily with friends. Lunch break is until 1:00.

There are also classes in the afternoon. Classes end around 3:30. After that, there are club activities. Students play baseball, soccer, tennis, and so on. There are also music clubs. Club activities last until around 6:00.

Students are busy every day. But club activities are very fun. Japanese students love club activities.

Notes on the Passage

はちじはんに 始はじまります — "starts at 8:30." に marks the specific time at which something occurs.

いちじかんめ — "first period." ～じかんめ is a counter for class periods: いち (one) + じかん (hour/period) + め (ordinal suffix).

ごぜんちゅうに — "during the morning." ちゅう means "during" or "throughout."

たのしく 話はなします — "chat happily." The adverb form of たのしい (fun): たのしく.

野球やきゅうや サッカーや — "baseball and soccer and (so on)." や lists examples non-exhaustively, implying there are other activities too.

ろくじごろまで — "until around 6:00." ごろ (approximately) combined with まで (until).

Vocabulary