While there are a lot of websites out there that answer the question of how to say “What time is it?” in Japanese, I couldn’t find one page that covered the topic entirely. That is why I have decided to write my own blog post and the most detailed guide about how to ask and tell the time in Japanese. Let’s start with the basic question and learn to say “What time is it?” in Japanese.
“Ima nanji desu ka?” (今何時ですか) is the polite phrase to ask the time in Japanese and translates as “What time is it (now)?”. When asking a stranger it is common to start with “Sumimasen” (すみません) to get their attention. For friends, on the other hand, you can use the more casual “Ima nanji?” (今何時？).
After asking for the time in Japanese you also want to understand the answer, right? That’s why the latter half of my blog post covers every little bit about how to tell the time in Japanese including o’clock, half past, a quarter past, and a quarter to. In the first half, you will learn other useful questions related to asking for the time such as “What time is it in Japan?“, “What time does it start/end?” and “What time shall we meet?“.
How to Ask For The Time in Japanese
1. Ima Nanji Desu Ka? – “What Time is it now?” (formal)
“Ima nanji desu ka?” (今何時ですか) is the formal phrase to ask for the time in Japanese and translates as “What time is it now?“. Ima (今) means “now“, nanji (何時) means “what time” or “which hour“, desu (です) means “is“, and ka (か) is the question particle that turns the sentence into a question.
When asking a stranger for the time you should try to get their attention first. You can do this by either starting the conversation with sumimasen (すみません) which means “Excuse me” or “Ano, sumimasen” (あの、すみません) which can be translated as “Uhm, excuse me“.
The most common response will be “Ima ___ ji desu” (今〇〇です) which means “It is ___ o’clock“, but more about that further down below when we learn how to tell the time.
| Ima nanji desu ka? What time is it now? | 今何時ですか。 |
| Sumimasen, ima nanji desu ka? Excuse me, what time is it now? | すみません、今何時ですか。 |
| Ano, sumimasen. Ima nanji desu ka? Uhm, excuse me What time is it now? | あの、すみません。今何時ですか。 |
2. Ima Nanji? – “What Time is it now?” (casual)
The casual phrase to ask your friends for the time in Japanese is even easier because you can drop the polite “desu” and the question particle “ka”. All you have to say is “Ima nanji?” (今何時). You should raise your voice a bit at the end, just like you would do in English when asking a question.
The most common casual response to say “It is ___ o’clock” in Japanese is also easier, because it is just “___ ji” (〇〇時) without the polite copula “desu” at the end.
| Ima nanji? What time is it now? | 今何時？ |
| Ano, ima nanji? Uhm, what time is it now? | あの、今何時ですか？ |
| Nee, ima nanji? Hey, what time is it now? | ねぇ、今何時ですか？ |
3. Nihon wa Ima Nanji Desu Ka? – “What Time is it in Japan?”
There are two phrases you can use to ask someone “What time it is in Japan?” or any other country or city. The first one is “Nihon wa ima naji desu ka?” (日本は今何時ですか), the slightly longer one is “Nihon dewa ima nanji desu ka?” (日本では今何時ですか). “Nihon wa” and “Nihon dewa” both translate as “in Japan”.
If you want to ask what time it is in any other country or a city you just have to replace the first word. When you want to ask “What time is it in Tokyo?“, for example, the phrase would be “Tokyo wa ima nanji desu ka?” (東京は今何時ですか). For America, it would be “Amerika wa ima wa nanji desu ka?” (アメリカは今何時ですか).
The reply could either be “Ima nihon wa ___ ji desu” (今日本は〇〇時です) or “Ima ___ ji desu” (今〇〇時です) which translates as “It is ___ o’clock in Japan right now” or “It is ___ o’clock now“.
| Nihon wa ima nanji desu ka? What time is it in Japan? | 日本は今何時ですか？ |
| Nihon dewa ima nanji desu ka? What time is it in Japan? | 日本では今何時ですか？ |
| ___ wa ima nanji desu ka? What time is it in ___? | 〇〇は今何時ですか？ |
| ___ dewa ima nanji desu ka? What time is it in ___? | 〇〇では今何時ですか？ |
4. Nanji ni? – “(At) What Time?”
Last but not least we have the Japanese phrase “Nanji ni?” (何時に？) which is “At what time?” or “What time?” in English. Whenever you want to ask at what time something takes place, what time something has happened, or when you want to know what time something starts or ends you can use this phrase.
Since there are countless occasions when you can use this phrase, I can’t cover all of them. However, below I have tried to come up with some useful examples for both travelers visiting Japan and people living in Japan.
| Nanji ni? At what time? | 何時に? |
| Nanji ni hajimarimasu ka? What time does it start? | 何時に始まりますか。 |
| Nanji ni owarimasu ka? What time does it end? | 何時に終わりますか。 |
| Nanji ni aimashou ka? What time shall we meet? | 何時に会いましょうか。 |
| Nanji ni aiteimasu ka? What time do you open? | 何時に開いていますか。 |
| Nanji ni shimarimasu ka? What time do you close? | 何時に閉まりますか。 |
When aking about opening and closing times you can also use “Nanji kara” (何時から, from what time) and “Nanji made” (何時まで, until what time) instead of “Nanji ni”. “Nanji ni kaiten shimasu ka?” (何時に開店しますか) which is “What time does the store open?” and “Nanji ni heiten shimasu ka?” (何時に閉店しますか) which is “What time does the store close?” are also frequently used.
How to Tell the Time in Japanese
Ji (時) – How to Say “o’clock” in Japanese
The Japanese word for “o’clock” is ji (時) and in contrast to English, it can never be dropped. The phrase “It is ___ o’clock” is “___ ji” (〇〇時) in Japanese, but you can also use the politer sentence which is “___ ji desu” (〇〇時です). The words for “AM” and “PM” are gozen (午前) and gogo (午後) and have to be added before the time.
- It is 1 o’clock (casual): Ichi ji (１時)
- It is 1 o’clock (formal): Ichi ji desu (１時です)
- 1 am: Gozen ichi ji (午前１時) or Gozen ichi ji desu (午前１時です)
- 1 pm: Gogo ichi ji (午後１時) or Gogo ichi ji desu (午後１時です)
When writing the time you can either use Japanese kanji or Arabic numerals. That means that both 一時 and 1時 are correct, but the latter is more common. If you know how the count the hours are pretty straightforward. The only exceptions are “4 o’clock” which is yoji (４時) and “9 o’clock” which is kuji (９時).
| 1:00 (13:00) | Ichi ji one o’clock | １時 いちじ |
| 2:00 (14:00) | Ni ji two o’clock | ２時 にじ |
| 3:00 (15:00) | San ji three o’clock | ３時 さんじ |
| 4:00 (16:00) | Yo ji four o’clock | ４時 よじ |
| 5:00 (17:00) | Go ji five o’clock | ５時 ごじ |
| 6:00 (18:00) | Roku ji six o’clock | ６時 ろくじ |
| 7:00 (19:00) | Shichi ji seven o’clock | ７時 しちじ |
| 8:00 (20:00) | Hachi ji eight o’clock | ８時 はちじ |
| 9:00 (21:00) | Ku ji nine o’clock | ９時 くじ |
| 10:00 (22:00) | Juu ji ten o’clock | １０時 じゅうじ |
| 11:00 (23:00) | Juuichi ji eleven o’clock | １１時 じゅういちじ |
| 12:00 (24:00) | Juuni ji twelve o’clock | １２時 じゅうにじ |
Han (半) – How to Say “Half Past” in Japanese
There are two phrases you can use to say “half past” in Japanese. The more common and easier one is adding the word for “half” which is han (半) after the time: “___ ji han” (〇〇時半). But you can also say “30 minutes” which is sanjuppun (３０分) in Japanese and similar to “It is ___ thirty” in English.
- It is half past 1: Ichi ji han (１時半) or Ichi ji han desu (１時半です)
- It is 1:30: Ichi ji sanjuppun (１時３０分) or Ichi ji sanjuppun desu (１時３０分です)
| 1:30 (13:30) | Ichi ji han half past one | １時半 いち じ はん |
| 2:30 (14:30) | Ni ji han half past two | ２時半 に じ はん |
| 3:30 (15:30) | San ji han half past three | ３時半 さん じ はん |
| 4:30 (16:30) | Yo ji han half past four | ４時半 よ じ はん |
| 5:30 (17:30) | Go ji han half past five | ５時半 ご じ はん |
| 6:30 (18:30) | Roku ji han half past six | ６時半 ろく じ はん |
| 7:30 (19:30) | Shichi ji han half past seven | ７時半 しち じ はん |
| 8:30 (20:30) | Hachi ji han half past eight | ８時半 はち じ はん |
| 9:30 (21:30) | Ku ji han half past nine | ９時半 く じ はん |
| 10:30 (22:30) | Juu ji han half past ten | １０時半 じゅう じ はん |
| 11:30 (23:30) | Juuichi ji han half past eleven | １１時半 じゅういち じ はん |
| 12:30 (24:30) | Juuni ji han half past twelve | １２時半 じゅうに じ はん |
Juugo fun (15分) – How to Say “A Quarter Past” in Japanese
“A quarter past ___” is a very easy expression in Japanese since you just have to add “15 minutes” which is juugo fun (１５分 or 十五分) in Japanese.
- It is a quarter past 1 (casual): Ichi ji juugo fun (１時１５分)
- It is a quarter past 1 (formal): Ichi ji juugo fun desu (１時１５分です)
| 1:15 (13:15) | Ichi ji juugo fun a quarter past one | １時１５分 いち じ じゅうご ふん |
| 2:15 (14:15) | Ni ji juugo fun a quarter past two | ２時１５分 に じ じゅうご ふん |
| 3:15 (15:15) | San ji juugo fun a quarter past three | ３時１５分 さん じ じゅうご ふん |
| 4:15 (16:15) | Yo ji juugo fun a quarter past four | ４時１５分 よ じ じゅうご ふん |
| 5:15 (17:15) | Go ji juugo fun a quarter past five | ５時１５分 ご じ じゅうご ふん |
| 6:15 (18:15) | Roku ji juugo fun a quarter past six | ６時１５分 ろく じ じゅうご ふん |
| 7:15 (19:15) | Shichi ji juugo fun a quarter past seven | ７時１５分 しち じ じゅうご ふん |
| 8:15 (20:15) | Hachi ji juugo fun a quarter past eight | ８時１５分 はち じ じゅうご ふん |
| 9:15 (21:15) | Ku ji juugo fun a quarter past nine | ９時１５分 くじ じゅうご ふん |
| 10:15 (22:15) | Juu ji juugo fun a quarter past ten | １０時１５分 じゅう じ じゅうご ふん |
| 11:15 (23:15) | Juuichi ji juugo fun a quarter past eleven | １１時１５分 じゅういち じ じゅうご ふん |
| 12:15 (24:15) | Juuni ji juugo fun a quarter past twelve | １２時１５分 じゅうに じ じゅうご ふん |
Yonjuugo Fun (45分) – How to Say “a Quarter to” in Japanese
“A quarter to ___” is as easy as the previous expression, since you just have to add “45 minutes” which is yonjuugo fun (４５分 or 四十五分) in Japanese. However, when translating from English to Japanese be aware that “a quarter to 1” is actually twelve forty-five (12:45) and therefore juuni ji yonjuugo fun (１２時４５分).
- It is a quarter to 1 (casual): Juuni ji yonjuugo fun (１２時４５分)
- It is a quarter to 1 (formal): Juuni ji yonjuugo fun desu (１２時４５分です)
| 1:45 (13:45) | Ichi ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to two | １時４５分 いち じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 2:45 (14:45) | Ni ji yonjuugo fun a quarter two three | ２時４５分 に じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 3:45 (15:45) | San ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to four | ３時４５分 さん じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 4:45 (16:45) | Yo ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to five | ４時４５分 よ じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 5:45 (17:45) | Go ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to six | ５時４５分 ご じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 6:45 (18:45) | Roku ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to seven | ６時４５分 ろく じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 7:45 (19:45) | Shichi ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to eight | ７時４５分 しち じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 8:45 (20:45) | Hachi ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to nine | ８時４５分 はち じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 9:45 (21:45) | Ku ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to ten | ９時４５分 く じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 10:45 (21:45) | Juu ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to eleven | １０時４５分 じゅう じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 11:45 (21:45) | Juuichi ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to twelve | １１時４５分 じゅういち じ よんじゅうご ふん |
| 12:45 (21:45) | Juuni ji yonjuugo fun a quarter to one | １２時４５分 じゅうに じ よんじゅうご ふん |
Fun (分) – How to Say “Minutes” in Japanese
The Japanese word for “minute/minutes” is fun (分) which can also be pronounced as pun and ppun. When counting minutes there are a lot of exceptions, so read the list carefully. I have marked the exceptions in bold.
| 0:01 | Ippun one minute | １分 いっぷん |
| 0:02 | Nifun two minutes | ２分 にふん |
| 0:03 | Sanpun three minutes | ３分 さんぷん |
| 0:04 | Yonpun (or yonfun) four minutes | ４分 よんぷん (or よんふん) |
| 0:05 | Gofun five minutes | ５分 ごふん |
| 0:06 | Roppun six minutes | ６分 ろっぷん |
| 0:07 | Nanafun seven minutes | ７分 ななふん |
| 0:08 | Happun (or hachifun) eight minutes | ８分 はっぷん (or はちふん) |
| 0:09 | Kyuufun nine minutes | ９分 きゅうふん |
| 0:10 | Juppun ten minutes | １０分 じゅっぷん |
| 0:11 | Juuippun eleven minutes | １１分 じゅういっぷん |
| 0:12 | Juunifun twelve minutes | １２分 じゅうにふん |
| 0:13 | Juusanfun thirteen minutes | １３分 じゅうさんぷん |
| 0:14 | Juuyonfun fourteen minutes | １４分 じゅうよんぷん |
| 0:15 | Juugofun fifteen minutes (a quarter past) | １５分 じゅうごふん |
| 0:16 | Juuroppun sixteen minutes | １６分 じゅうろっぷん |
| 0:17 | Juunanafun seventeen minutes | １７分 じゅうななふん |
| 0:18 | Juuhappun eighteen minutes | １８分 じゅうはっぷん |
| 0:19 | Juukyuufun nineteen minutes | １９分 じゅうきゅうふん |
| 0:20 | Nijuppun twenty minutes | ２０分 にじゅっぷん |
| 0:25 | Nijuugofun twenty-five minutes | ２５分 にじゅうごふん |
| 0:30 | Sanjuppun thirty minutes | ３０分 さんじゅっぷん |
| 0:35 | Sanjuugofun thirty-five minutes | ３５分 さんじゅうごふん |
| 0:40 | Yonjuppun forty minutes | ４０分 よんじゅっぷん |
| 0:45 | Yonjuugofun forty-five minutes (a quarter to) | ４５分 よんじゅうごふん |
| 0:50 | Gojuppun fifty minutes | ５０分 ごじゅっぷん |
| 0:55 | Gojuugofun fifty-five minutes | ５５分 ごじゅうごふん |
| 0:60 | Rokujuppun sixty minutes | ６０分 ろくじゅっぷん |
Byou (秒) – How to Say “Seconds” in Japanese
Byou (秒) is the Japanese word for “second/seconds“. In contrast to the hours and minutes there are no exceptions here, so counting seconds is really easy and straightforward.
| 0:01 | Ichibyou one second | １秒 いちびょう |
| 0:02 | Nibyou two seconds | ２秒 にびょう |
| 0:03 | Sanbyou three seconds | ３秒 さんびょう |
| 0:04 | Yonbyou four seconds | ４秒 よんびょう |
| 0:05 | Gobyou five seconds | ５秒 ごびょう |
| 0:06 | Rokubyou six seconds | ６秒 ろくびょう |
| 0:07 | Nanabyou seven seconds | ７秒 ななびょう |
| 0:08 | Hachibyou eight seconds | ８秒 はちびょう |
| 0:09 | Kyuubyou nine seconds | ９秒 きゅうびょう |
| 0:10 | Juubyou ten seconds | １０秒 じゅうびょう |
| 0:11 | Juuichibyou eleven seconds | １１秒 じゅういちびょう |
| 0:12 | Juunibyou twelve seconds | １２秒 じゅうにびょう |
| 0:13 | Juusanbyou thirteen seconds | １３秒 じゅうさんびょう |
| 0:14 | Juuyonbyou fourteen seconds | １４秒 じゅうよんびょう |
| 0:15 | Juugobyou fifteen seconds | １５秒 じゅうごびょう |
| 0:16 | Juurokubyou sixteen seconds | １６秒 じゅうろくびょう |
| 0:17 | Juunanabyou seventeen minutes | １７秒 じゅうななびょう |
| 0:18 | Juuhachibyou eighteen seconds | １８秒 じゅうはちびょう |
| 0:19 | Juukyuubyou nineteen seconds | １９秒 じゅうきゅうびょう |
| 0:20 | Nijuubyou twenty seconds | ２０秒 にじゅうびょう |
| 0:25 | Nijuugobyou twenty-five seconds | ２５秒 にじゅうごびょう |
| 0:30 | Sanjuubyou thirty seconds | ３０秒 さんじゅうびょう |
| 0:35 | Sanjuugobyou thirty-five seconds | ３５秒 さんじゅうごびょう |
| 0:40 | Yonjuubyou forty seconds | ４０秒 よんじゅうびょう |
| 0:45 | Yonjuugobyou forty-five seconds | ４５秒 よんじゅうごびょう |
| 0:50 | Gojuubyou fifty seconds | ５０秒 ごじゅうびょう |
| 0:55 | Gojuugobyou fifty-five seconds | ５５秒 ごじゅうごびょう |
| 0:60 | Rokujuubyou sixty seconds | ６０秒 ろくじゅうびょう |
Overview: How to Tell the Time in Japanese
| It’s ___ o’clock (It’s 1 o’clock) | __ ji desu (ichi ji desu) | 〇〇時です (１時です) |
| It’s half past ___ (It’s half past two) | __ ji han desu (ni ji han desu) | 〇〇時半です (２時半です) |
| It’s ___ thirty (It’s three-thirty) | __ ji sanjuppn desu (san ji sanjuppun desu) | 〇〇時３０分です (３時３０分です) |
| It’s a quarter past ___ (It’s a quarter past four) | __ ji juugofun desu (yo ji juugofun desu) | 〇〇時１５分です (４時１５分です) |
| It’s a quarter to ___ (It’s a quarter to five) | __ ji yonjuugofun desu (yo ji yonjuugofun desu) | 〇〇時４５分です (４時４５分です) |
| It’s ___ am (It’s six am) | Gozen ___ ji desu (gozen roku ji desu) | 午前〇〇時です (午前６時です) |
| It’s ___ pm (It’s seven pm) | Gogo ___ ji desu (gogo shichi ji desu) | 午後〇〇時です (午後７時です) |
Nice