Learn basic Japanese vocabulary related to time
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| 二分 (ni-fun) |
| 三分 (san-pun) |
| 四分 (yon-pun) |
| What do these words mean? Stick around. |
| In this quick lesson, you’ll learn Japanese vocabulary for minutes. |
| But first, a question for you: When talking about time in Japanese, have you noticed that the word for "minute" can be either "fun" or "pun"? Do you know when to use each one? |
| Keep watching for the answer at the end. |
| 一分 (ippun) |
| "one minute" |
| [SLOW] 一分 (ippun) |
| 一分 (ippun) |
| There’s a proverb that uses 一分: |
| 一分一秒を争う, which means “to compete over every minute and second.” |
| It shows that something is very urgent and is often used in emergency or disaster situations. |
| Jack asks Steve to wait while he finishes a task. |
| Jack: これを終わらせます。一分待ってください。 (Kore o owarasemasu. Ippun matte kudasai.) |
| Steve: 大丈夫です。急がなくてもいいですよ。 (Daijōbu desu. Isoganakute mo ii desu yo.) |
| 二分 (ni-fun) |
| "two minutes" |
| [SLOW] 二分 (ni-fun) |
| 二分 (ni-fun) |
| Snoozing alarm: 「あと二分だけ寝かせて…」 |
| "Just let me sleep for two more minutes..." |
| Oscar alerts Emily on the arrival time of their bus. |
| Oscar: 急がないといけません。あと二分でバスが来ます。 (Isoganai to ikemasen. Ato ni-fun de basu ga kimasu.) |
| Emily: じゃあ、早く行きましょう。 (Jā, hayaku ikimashō.) |
| 三分 (san-pun) |
| "three minutes" |
| [SLOW] 三分 (san-pun) |
| 三分 (san-pun) |
| The standard waiting time for Cup Noodles is 3 minutes after pouring hot water. |
| Or |
| Hot water in, timer set — 3 minutes is all you need for the perfect Cup Noodles! |
| Emily alerts Oscar on the departure time of their bus. |
| Emily: 急がないといけません。あと三分でバスが出発します。 (Isoganai to ikemasen. Ato san-pun de basu ga shuppatsu shimasu.) |
| Oscar: 間に合います。走りましょう！ (Maniaimasu. Hashirimashō!) |
| 四分 (yon-pun) |
| "four minutes" |
| [SLOW] 四分 (yon-pun) |
| 四分 (yon-pun) |
| If someone asks, “How long will it take?” and you think it’ll take about 4 minutes, you can say: |
| 「4分くらい」 (yon-pun kurai), which means “about 4 minutes.” |
| To sound more polite, don’t forget to add です at the end: |
| 4分くらいです。 |
| Lina talks to Susan about a nearby cafe. |
| Lina: カフェは近いです。歩いて四分です。 (Kafe wa chikai desu. Aruite yon-pun desu.) |
| Susan: ちょっとコーヒーを飲むのにいいですね。 (Chotto kōhī o nomu no ni ii desu ne.) |
| 五分 (go-fun) |
| "five minutes" |
| [SLOW] 五分 (go-fun) |
| 五分 (go-fun) |
| In Japan, it’s traditionally considered good etiquette to arrive five minutes early, though nowadays people tend to be a bit more flexible about it. |
| Steve prepares for a meeting with Jack. |
| Steve: みんなもうすぐ来ます。あと五分で始めます。 (Min'na mōsugu kimasu. Ato go-fun de hajimemasu.) |
| Jack: 私はいつでも始められます。 (Watashi wa itsu demo hajimeraremasu.) |
| 六分 (roppun) |
| "six minutes" |
| [SLOW] 六分 (roppun) |
| 六分 (roppun) |
| 駅のアナウンス: 「次の電車は六分後に到着します」 |
| "The next train will arrive in six minutes." |
| Oscar tells Emily about a game. |
| Oscar: このゲームは速いです。六分しかかかりません。 (Kono gēmu wa hayai desu. Roppun shika kakarimasen.) |
| Emily: いいですね！じゃあ、何回かできますね。 (Ii desu ne! Jā, nan-kai ka dekimasu ne.) |
| 七分 (nana-fun) |
| "seven minutes" |
| [SLOW] 七分 (nana-fun) |
| 七分 (nana-fun) |
| For 7 minutes, ななふん is the natural and common way to say it. |
| You might hear しちふん in very formal or unusual contexts, but it’s best to stick with ななふん in daily conversation. |
| Susan tells Lina that she's almost ready to leave. |
| Susan: 七分で用意できます。 (Nana-fun de yōi dekimasu.) |
| Lina: ゆっくりでいいですよ。急いでいませんから。 (Yukkuri de ii desu yo. Isoide imasen kara.) |
| 八分 (happun / hachi-fun) |
| "eight minutes" |
| [SLOW] 八分 (happun / hachi-fun) |
| 八分 (happun / hachi-fun) |
| For eight minutes, both はっぷん and はちふん are correct readings. |
| However, はっぷん is more commonly used in everyday conversation. |
| Jack updates Steve on when dinner will be ready. |
| Jack: あと八分で晩ご飯の準備ができます。 (Ato happun de bangohan no junbi ga dekimasu.) |
| Steve: いいにおいがしますね。早く食べたいです。 (Ii nioi ga shimasu ne. Hayaku tabetai desu.) |
| 九分 (kyū-fun) |
| "nine minutes" |
| [SLOW] 九分 (kyū-fun) |
| 九分 (kyū-fun) |
| If you want to say “for ~ minutes” in Japanese, just add 間（かん） after the time. |
| For example, “for 9 minutes” is 九分間 (kyūfun-kan). |
| Steve reminds Oscar about an upcoming meeting. |
| Steve: そろそろ行かないといけません。会議は九分後です。 (Sorosoro ikanai to ikemasen. Kaigi wa kyū-fun go desu.) |
| Oscar: 行きましょう。 (Ikimashō.) |
| 十分 (juppun) |
| "ten minutes" |
| [SLOW] 十分 (juppun) |
| 十分 (juppun) |
| 10分 is read as じゅっぷん, not "じゅうふん". |
| 「あと10分ください」– Please give me 10 more minutes |
| Oscar makes plans to call Emily after finishing a task. |
| Oscar: これを終わらせないといけません。十分後に電話します。 (Kore o owarasenai to ikemasen. Juppun go ni denwa shimasu.) |
| Emily: 分かりました。待っています。 (Wakarimashita. Matte imasu.) |
| 十五分 (jū go-fun) |
| "15 minutes" |
| [SLOW] 十五分 (jū go-fun) |
| 十五分 (jū go-fun) |
| Especially in cities, you'll often see timetables spaced at 15分間隔 "15-minute intervals" or "every 15 minutes". |
| 「バスは15分おきに来ます」(The bus comes every 15 minutes.) |
| Steve and Jack consider taking a short break during their workday. |
| Steve: 15分の休憩を取りましょう。 (Jū go-fun no kyūkei o torimashō.) |
| Jack: いいですね。コーヒーが飲みたいです。 (Ii desu ne. Kōhī ga nomitai desu.) |
| 三十分 (san-juppun) |
| "30 minutes" |
| [SLOW] 三十分 (san-juppun) |
| 三十分 (san-juppun) |
| In Japanese, when telling time, you can say『半（はん）』instead of『30分』. |
| For example, 2:30 is『二時半（にじはん）』, not『二時三十分』. |
| Emily tells Oscar about the duration of a trip. |
| Emily: 遠くないですよ。三十分で着きます。 (Tōkunai desu yo. San-juppun de tsukimasu.) |
| Oscar: そんなに長くかかりませんね。行きましょう。 (Son'na ni nagaku kakarimasen ne. Ikimashō.) |
| 四十五分 (yon-jū go-fun) |
| "45 minutes" |
| [SLOW] 四十五分 (yon-jū go-fun) |
| 四十五分 (yon-jū go-fun) |
| Unlike 30 minutes (which can be expressed as『半』), |
| 45分 in Japanese is usually said just as it is — |
| there's no special shortcut or expression like 'quarter to' in English. |
| For example, 09:45 is simply『9時45分』. |
| Lina talks about her evening class with Susan. |
| Lina: 夜の授業は四十五分です。 (Yoru no jugyō wa yon-jū go-fun desu.) |
| Susan: 何を習っているんですか。 (Nani o naratte iru n desu ka.) |
| Let's review. |
| You'll see the words in English and your job is to say the words in Japanese. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "one minute"? |
| 一分 (ippun) |
| 一分 (ippun) |
| And how to say "two minutes"? |
| 二分 (ni-fun) |
| 二分 (ni-fun) |
| How about "three minutes"? |
| 三分 (san-pun) |
| 三分 (san-pun) |
| Do you remember how to say "four minutes"? |
| 四分 (yon-pun) |
| 四分 (yon-pun) |
| And how to say "five minutes"? |
| 五分 (go-fun) |
| 五分 (go-fun) |
| Let's try "six minutes"! |
| 六分 (roppun) |
| 六分 (roppun) |
| What about "seven minutes"? |
| 七分 (nana-fun) |
| 七分 (nana-fun) |
| Now, let's see if you remember how to say "eight minutes"! |
| 八分 (happun / hachi-fun) |
| 八分 (happun / hachi-fun) |
| Another one! What about "nine minutes"? |
| 九分 (kyū-fun) |
| 九分 (kyū-fun) |
| Do you remember how to say "ten minutes"? |
| 十分 (juppun) |
| 十分 (juppun) |
| And how to say "15 minutes"? |
| 十五分 (jū go-fun) |
| 十五分 (jū go-fun) |
| How about "30 minutes"? |
| 三十分 (san-juppun) |
| 三十分 (san-juppun) |
| And finally, do you remember how to say "45 minutes"? |
| 四十五分 (yon-jū go-fun) |
| 四十五分 (yon-jū go-fun) |
| Did you notice that the word for "minute" can be either "fun" or "pun"? Can you guess when to use each one? |
| In Japanese, the common word for minute is 分 (fun). |
| But when you talk about one minute, it changes to ぷん (pun), like in 一分, (ippun) or "one minute." |
| This change depends on the number before 分 (fun). |
| For example, with numbers ending in 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10, like 1, 3, or 4 minutes, you say "pun." |
| For all other minutes, like 5 or 7, you use "fun." |
| Thanks for watching! Don't forget to practice these new words and phrases, and see you next time! |
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