Key Phrases
いまなんじですか？
ima nanji desu ka
What time is it?
にじです
niji desu
It is two o'clock
さくばん
saku ban
Last night
Skills You'll Learn
Telling time
じかんをつたえる
jikan o tsutaeru
Discussing events in the past
かこのできごとをはなす
ka kono dekigoto o hanasu
Using phrases for time of day
じかんたいのふれーずをつかう
jikan tai no fure - zu o tsukau
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
今日
kyou
Today
💬 [今日] is said (kyoo), not how the separate characters might tempt you to sound it out. This same long [お] sound shows up in common time words like [東京] too.
See breakdown →明日
ashita
Tomorrow
💬 [明日] is a common word whose reading doesn't match the characters in an obvious way: it's usually said (ashita). Many everyday date words work like this, so it's best to learn them as full words.
See breakdown →明後日
asatte
Day after tomorrow
💬 [明後日] is usually said (asatte), which you can't reliably guess from the characters. Time words like this are often best memorized whole: [昨日], [今日], [明日], [明後日].
See breakdown →昨日
kinou
Yesterday
💬 [昨日] is usually said (kinoo), with a long final vowel. It's another very common date word whose reading is best learned as one unit rather than character by character.
See breakdown →時間
jikan
Hour
分
bun
Minute
💬 [分] changes pronunciation with numbers: [5分] is (go-fun), but [1分] is (ip-pun) and [3分] is (san-pun). Learn the number together with [分], not [分] by itself.
See breakdown →秒
byou
Second
夜
yoru
Night
朝
asa
Morning
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