何時ですか。 Nanji desu ka. What Time is It? How to Tell Time and Give Dates in Chinese
In this post we’ll learn how to tell time in Japanese, how to give dates in Japanese, and how to talk about days and months in Japanese. First we’ll start with Japanese vocabulary related to the time of day. Then you’ll learn how to tell time in Japanese. Next you’ll learn the days of the week in Japanese as well as the months of the year. Finally, you’ll learn how to give dates in Japanese.
昼, 夜 hiru, yoru: Day, Night
Let’s start with some basic vocabulary related to time of day: 昼 hiru day; 夜 yoru night; 朝 asa morning; 午後 gogo afternoon; 夕方 yuugata evening.
- ｛早い・遅い｝です。
{Hayai/osoi} desu.
It’s early/late. - 夜寝ます。
Yoru nemasu.
I sleep at night. - 日中に働きます。
Nitchū ni hatarakimasu.
I work during the day. - 夜に読書をします。
Yoru ni dokusho o shimasu.
We read in the evening.
How to Tell Time in Japanese: 何時ですか。 Nanji desu ka. What time is it?
To ask what time it is, use: 何時ですか。 Nanji desu ka. The answer will follow the format __ 時です。__ ji desu. (it is ___ o’clock.) The word 半 han means half.
- 何時ですか。
Nanji desu ka.
What time is it? - 十二時です。
Juuniji desu.
It’s noon. - 一時です。
Ichiji desu.
It’s 1:00. - 二時です。
Niji desu.
It’s 2:00. - 三時半です。
Sanjihan desu.
It’s 3:30. - 五時四十五分です。
Goji yonjuugofun desu.
It’s 5:45. - 何時に電車は出発しますか。
Nanji ni densha wa shuppatsu shimasu ka.
When does the train leave? - 電車は午後1時30分に出発します。
Densha wa gogo ichiji sanjuppun ni shuppatsu shimasu.
The train leaves at one thirty in the afternoon. - 店は何時に｛開きます・閉まります｝か。
Mise wa nanji ni {akimasu/shimarimasu} ka.
What time does the store open/close? - 店は午前10時に開きます。
Mise wa gozen jūji ni akimasu.
The store opens at ten o’clock in the morning.
The Days of the Week in Japanese
The days of the week in Japanese are: 月曜日 getsuyōbi Monday; 火曜日 kayōbi Tuesday; 水曜日 suiyōbi Wednesday; 木曜日 mokuyōbi Thursday; 金曜日 kin’yōbi Friday; 土曜日 doyōbi Saturday; 日曜日 nichiyōbi Sunday. Some other key vocabulary is: 今日 kyō today, 明日 ashita tomorrow, 昨日 kinō yesterday, 今夜 kon’ya tonight, 週末 shūmatsu this weekend.
- 今日は何曜日ですか。
Kyou wa nan’youbi desu ka.
What day is it today? - 月曜日と火曜日と水曜日と木曜日と金曜日に働きます。
Getsuyōbi to kayōbi to suiyōbi to mokuyōbi to kin’yōbi ni hatarakimasu.
I work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. - 毎週土曜日に友達に会います。
Maishū doyōbi ni tomodachi ni aimasu.
We see our friends every Saturday. - 今夜は何をしますか。
Kon’ya wa nani o shimasu ka.
What are you doing tonight? - 昨日何をしましたか。
Kinō nani o shimashita ka.
What did you do yesterday? - 週末に会いましょう。
Shūmatsu ni aimashō.
I’ll see you this weekend.
More Japanese Time Expressions
Some other important vocabulary to know when you’re talking about dates and times are: 週 shū week; 月 tsuki month, 年 toshi year.
- 今週、今月、今年
konshū, kongetsu, kotoshi
this week, this month, this year - 先週、先月、去年
senshū, sengetsu, kyonen
last week, last month, last year - 来週、来月、来年
raishū, raigetsu, rainen
next week, next month, next year - 授業は｛来週・来月・来年｝始まります。
Jugyō wa {raishū/ raigetsu/ rainen} hajimarimasu.
The class starts next week/ month/ year. - 授業は｛先週・先月・去年｝始まりました。
Jugyō wa {senshū/ sengetsu/ kyonen} hajimarimashita.
The class started last week/ month/ year.
Months in Japanese and How to Give Dates in Japanese
The months of the year in Japanese are simply a number plus 月gatsu (month), for example “month one” or “first month,” meaning January: 一月 ichigatsu January, 二月 nigatsu February, 三月 sangatsu March, 四月 shigatsu April, 五月 gogatsu May, 六月 rokugatsu June, 七月 shichigatsu July, 八月 hachigatsu August, 九月kugatsu September, 十月 jūgatsu October, 十一月 jūichigatsu November, 十二月 jūnigatsu December.
- 今日は何月何日ですか。
Kyō wa nangatsu nan’nichi desu ka.
What’s the date today? - 誕生日はいつですか。
Tanjōbi wa itsu desu ka.
When is your birthday? - 私の誕生日は11月24日です。
Watashi no tanjōbi wa jūichigatsu nijūyokka desu.
My birthday is on November twenty-fourth. - 8月2日に家族が来ます。
Hachigatsu futsuka ni kazoku ga kimasu.
My family arrives on August second. - 7月８日から７月20日まで休暇をとります。
Shichigatsu yōka kara shichigatsu hatsuka made kyūka o torimasu.
We go on vacation from July eighth through July twentieth.
Special Japanese Expressions for the Day of the Month
When giving the date, note that you don’t use a simple number in Japanese, but instead a special expression for each day. You can see below that the first ten are based on the Native Japanese numbers, and most of the higher numbers simply use Sino-Japanese numbers plus the counter for day, 日 nichi, with some irregularities for the 14th, 19th, 20th, 24th and 29th. But among those, only the 20th (二十日 hatsuka) doesn’t have a predictable alternative form. In writing you’ll typically see Arabic numerals followed by the counter for days: １日, ２日, ３日, etc.
- 1 一日 tsuitachi
- 2 二日 futsuka
- 3 三日 mikka
- 4 四日 yokka
- 5 五日 itsuka
- 6 六日 muika
- 7 七日 nanoka
- 8 八日 yōka
- 9 九日 kokonoka
- 10 十日 tōka
- 11 十一日 jūichi-nichi
- 12 十二日 jūni-nichi
- 13 十三日 jūsan-nichi
- 14 十四日 jūyokka (or: jūyon-nichi)
- 15 十五日 jūgo-nichi
- 16 十六日 jūroku-nichi
- 17 十七日 jūshichi-nichi
- 18 十八日 jūhachi-nichi
- 19 十九日 jūkyū-nichi (or: jūku-nichi)
- 20 二十日 hatsuka
- 21 二十一日 nijūichi-nichi
- 22 二十二日 nijūni-nichi
- 23 二十三日 nijūsan-nichi
- 24 二十四日 nijūyokka (or: nijūyon-nichi)
- 25 二十五日 nijūgo-nichi
- 26 二十六日 nijūroku-nichi
- 27 二十七日 nijūshichi-nichi
- 28 二十八日 nijūhachi-nichi
- 29 二十九日 nijūkyū-nichi (or: nijūku-nichi)
- 30 三十日 sanjū-nichi
- 31 三十一日 sanjūichi-nichi
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