The pronunciations of the numbers preceding – jikan follow the same rules as with -ji.ĭurations of time in minutes is sometimes expressed as 分間 (funkan/punkan), but here the kan is optional, and it’s never needed when 分 is accompanying 時間. (The kan in jikan means space or interval.) You can also add han or fun/pun just as before. To specify a certain length of time, you must use the suffix ~時間 (jikan) for “hours”, rather than the suffix ~時 (ji), which is only used for the time of day. You can also use just から or まで, leaving out the unknown or irrelevant portion. O-mise wa gozen shichiji kara gogo kuji made desu. You can say that something is from time X to time Y in Japanese using what you already know. All Hiragana would be even worse to read than Romaji. Notice how the particles stand out from the Kanji they follow? This is why I’m using the Kanji even on your first exposure. As with all particles, kara and made follow the times they are attached to. These particles are used both in the sense of time and of space/distance. In order to specify from what time to what time, you’ll need a couple new particles: Kana Because we haven’t gotten to verbs yet, this use will have to wait for another lesson. In order to say something is happens at a particle time, you would use the particle に “ni” after the time. It’s this word that is generally used to express the concept of time. Note, however, that there also another word for time, toki, which is written with the same Kanji. So the same Kanji means both “time” and “hours”. Now that you know how to use the numbers, you’re ready to tell time. Otherwise, assume that the normal number and unchanged counter are used. Focus your attention on whether you should yon/shi, nana/shichi, and kyuu/ku, and if there are any irregular pronunciations of the number + counter combo. The main things you’ll want to watch out when telling time are the irregular pronunciations yoji, shichiji, kuji, and juppun. 十五分Īlthough this is fine for now, in case you’d like to know the other numbers, here they are: Kanjiįor larger numbers, only the component directly before the counter affects the pronunciation – the one’s place or juu.Īs in English, the minutes simply follow the hours when telling time. The same rule applies for larger numbers. So while go + fun is unchanged, combining juu + fun causes: This is a common occurrence – not only does the form of the number vary, but also the form of the counter. The corresponding suffix for minutes in Japanese is ~分, pronounced fun or pun. Although the 12 hour system is what you’d use when speaking, Japanese clocks, TV schedules, and train station timetables will generally show time from 00:00-24:00. When used with other counters, such as 年 (nen) for years, han becomes equivalent to half a unit of that counter.įinally, note that in Japan as well as many other countries, the 24 hour clock (“military time”) is used much more frequently than in North America. There’s also an easy way to denote half hours in Japanese: with the suffix 半 (han), meaning “half”. ごぜん 6時Īs in English, you can safely omit the gozen/gogo if there’s no chance of ambiguity. Simply add these in front of the time in order to specify. The Japanese equivalents of AM and PM are: ごぜん The suffix -ji can be considered a counter, and as with any counter, it is always used with a particular pronunciation of the numbers that have several. You’ll also see them in digital clock form as well – 1:00, 2:00, etc. Time in hours is frequently written using both the Kanji and the Arabic numerals. This is equivalent to “_ o’clock” in English. Hours of the day are signified with the suffix ~時 (ji), meaning “hour”. This particular group of Kanji will not be covered until the fourth Kanji lesson. You’re not expected to learn how to write these Kanji yet, so feel free to use the Hiragana spellings instead. The counters you will learn in this lesson as well as their question word forms are normally written in Kanji, and will be introduced in those forms so that you’ll be able to recognize them. We’ll also look at learn how to specify intervals and durations of time.Ĭounting in Japanese Kanji Used in This Lesson In this section you’ll learn the pronunciations of hours and minutes, and how to ask and answer the question “What time is it?”.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |