Telling time

Content: Telling time, the “Ma” line (Ma, Mi, Mu, Me, Mo) of Katakana.

Aim: How do I tell time in Japanese?

New Vocabulary:

Japanese	Romaji	English
すみません	sumimasen	Excuse me
じ	ji	Hour (only to indicate the actual time of the day, rather than the duration)
いま	ima	now
なんじ	Nan ji	What time
ふん/ぷん	Hun/pun	Minute(s)
から(Review of Lesson 3)	kara	from
まで	made	till
ゆうびんきょく	Yuubin kyoku	Post office
ごぜん	gozen	am
ごご	gogo	pm
どうもありがとう	Doomo arigatoo	Thank you very much
どういたしまして	Doo itashi mashite	You are welcome

Ji and Hun/pun chart:

Lesson Point:

Please note that the word for “minute” alternates between the counter “pun” and “fun.”

Just memorize the pattern of the first ten minutes because it repeats from eleven onward.

Sample Sentences:

アナ：すみません。いま、なんじですか？(Excuse me. What time is it?)

Sumimasen. Ima nanji desuka?

たなか：8じ50ぷんです。(It’s 8:50.)

Hachi ji goju-ppun desu.

アナ：ゆうびんきょくはなんじからですか？(What time is the post office from?)

Yuubinkyoku wa nanji kara desuka?

たなか：ごぜん9じからです。(From 9 am)

Gozen ku-ji kara desu.

アナ：なんじまでですか？(Till what time?)

Nanji made desuka?

たなか：ごご6じまでです。(Till 6pm.)

Gogo roku-ji made desu.

アナ：どうもありがとう。(Thank you very much.)

Doomo arigatoo.

たなか：どういたしまして。(You are welcome.)

Doo itashimashite.

S-18-1

Mini-quiz:

What time is it? Say it in Japanese.

Writing Practice: Katakana (ma, mi, mu, me, mo)