So, you want to ask your friend if you can meet back up in two hours. Easy in English, right? What about in Japanese? Maybe you want to talk about a meeting that happens every Monday. Do you have the Japanese skills to do it? Talking about the time and actions are just a natural part of conversation. Will your Japanese help you talk about time or will you be wasting it?
Read this Newbie Japanese article to learn about time. It will help you understand intervals of time such as ni-jikan (“two hours”), and how to tell people about actions you plan to take such as kutsu o kaimasu (“I'm going to buy shoes”). You need this article to take your Japanese to the next level!
Vocabulary: In this article, you'll learn the following words and phrases:
mina-san – “everyone”
Matsumoto-joo – “Matsumoto castle”
han – “half” (when used with time half past)
jiyuu-jikan – “free time”
gogo – “afternoon, P.M.”
ringo-en – “apple farm”
ima – “now”
ni-jikan – “two hours”
tabemasu – “to eat” (masu form)
(o)soba – “buckwheat noodle”
Grammar: In this article, you'll learn the following words and phrases:
Useful Vocabulary and Phrases
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juuni-ji han “half past twelve, 12:30”
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Han means “half.” When we use it with a time, it means “half past (30 minutes).” However, the word order is different from English.
Correct: juuni-ji han
Incorrect: han juuni-ji
Japanese / “English”
ichi-ji / “1:00”
ichi-ji han / “1:30”
ni-ji / “2:00”
ni-ji han / “2:30”
san-ji / “3:00”
san-ji han / “3:30”
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gogo “afternoon, P.M.”
gozen “A.M.”
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In English, P.M. and A.M. come after the time, whereas gogo (P.M.) and gozen (A.M.) come before the time in Japanese.
For example:
- 8:00 P.M. Correct: gogo, hachi-ji Incorrect: hachi-ji gogo
- 8:00 A.M. Correct: gozen, hachi-ji Incorrect: hachi-ji gozen
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ni-jikan “2 hours”
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Jikan is a counter for hours.
“English” / Japanese
“for an hour” / ichi-jikan
“for two hours” / ni-jikan
“for three hours” / san-jikan
“for four hours” / yo-jikan
“for five hours” / go-jikan
“for six hours” / roku-jikan
“for seven hours” / nana-jikan or shichi-jikan
“for eight hours” / hachi-jikan
“for nine hours” / ku-jikan
“for ten hours” / juu -jikan
“How many hours?” / nan-jikan?
“an hour and a half” / ichi-jikan han
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Today's Target Phrase
(Watashi wa) o-soba o tabemasu.
“I'm going to eat buckwheat noodles.”
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Japanese / “English”
Watashi / “I, me”
wa / “topic-marking particle”
osoba / “buckwheat noodle”
o / “object-marking particle”
tabemasu / “to eat” (masu form)
We place the object-marking particle o after a noun and it indicates that the noun is the object of the sentence. We use o with transitive verbs.
Please note that we can use Japanese sentences ending with – masu verbs for habitual or future actions. So, watashi wa o-soba o tabemasu can either mean “I eat buckwheat noodles” or “I'm going to eat buckwheat noodles.”
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Sentence Patterns
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Affirmative Sentences
- Subject / Wa / object / o / verb Watashi / wa / asa-gohan / o / tabemasu. Shizuka-san / wa / o-soba / o / tabemasu. Watashi / wa / katsudon to sashimi / o / tabemasu.
*Note:
Asa-gohan means “breakfast.”
Negative Sentences A negative form of a masu verb form: SEE Newbie Article 22 for more details.
- Subject / Wa / object / o / verb Watashi / wa / asa-gohan / o / tabemasen. Mizuki-san / wa / o-soba / o / tabemasen.
Question Sentences The sentence-ending particle
ka makes the sentence a question. SEE Newbie Article 22 for more details.
- Subject / Wa / object / o / verb / ka? (Anata / wa) / asa-gohan / o / tabemasu / ka? Lorii-san / wa / o-soba / o / tabemasu / ka?
Answers:
- Yes- Hai, tabemasu. No- Iie, kikimasen.
- Subject / wa / nani (“what”) / o / verb / ka? (Anata / wa) / nani / o / tabemasu / ka? Lor-san / wa / nani / o / tabemasu / ka?
Note that the anata example is very direct, and thus considered somewhat rude. So, it is advisable to avoid using it unless necessary.
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Examples with other verbs
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- kikimasu “to listen, to hear” Japanesepod101 o kikimasu. “I'm going to listen to Japanesepod101.” or “I listen to Japanesepod101.”
- kaimasu “to buy” Kutsu o kaimasu. “I'm going to buy shoes.” or “I buy shoes.”
- tabemasu “to eat” Niku o tabemasen. “I'm not going to eat meat.” or “I don't eat meat.”
- mimasu “to see” Terebi o mimasu ka? “Will you watch TV?”
- nomimasu “to drink” Nani o nomimasu ka? “What are you going to drink?” or “What do you drink?”
- shimasu “to do” Nichi yoobi nani o shimasu ka? “What are you going to do on Sunday?” or “What do you (usually) do on Sundays?”
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Practice:
Answer the following questions.
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- Ongaku o kikimasu ka? (* ongaku means “music”)
- Eiga o mimasu ka? (* eiga means “movies”)
- Furansu no eiga o mimasu ka?)
- O-sake o nomimasu ka? (* o-sake means “alcohol”)
- Nichi yoobi nani o shimasu ka?
