Telling Time in Japanese

Learning numbers in Japanese is the first step toward learning to count, handling cash transactions and telling time.   Heres a dialogue to help beginning Japanese students learn the language conventions of how to tell time in spoken Japanese: Paul: Sumimasen. Ima nan-ji desu ka. Otoko no hito: San-ji juugo fun desu. Paul: Doumo arigatou. Otoko no hito: Dou itashimashite. Dialogue in Japanese ãÆ' Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' «: 㠁™ã  ¿Ã£  ¾Ã£ â€ºÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£â‚¬â€š ä »Å Ã¤ ½â€¢Ã¦â„¢â€šÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â‚¬â€š ç” ·Ã£  ®Ã¤ º º: ä ¸â€°Ã¦â„¢â€šÃ¥  Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¥Ë†â€ Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€š ãÆ' Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ' «: 㠁 ©Ã£ â€ Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£ â€šÃ£â€šÅ Ã£ Å'㠁 ¨Ã£ â€ Ã£â‚¬â€š ç” ·Ã£  ®Ã¤ º º: 㠁 ©Ã£ â€ Ã£ â€žÃ£ Å¸Ã£ â€"㠁 ¾Ã£ â€"㠁 ¦Ã£â‚¬â€š Dialogue Translation:   Paul: Excuse me. What time is it now? Man: It is 3:15. Paul: Thank you. Man: You are welcome. Do you remember the expression Sumimasen㠁™ã  ¿Ã£  ¾Ã£ â€ºÃ£â€šâ€œ? This is a very useful phrase which can be used in various situations. In this case it means Excuse me. Ima nan-ji desu kaä »Å Ã¤ ½â€¢Ã¦â„¢â€šÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹means What time is it now? You may also say tadaima, which means I just came home.Heres how to count to ten in Japanese: 1 ichi ï ¼Ë†Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¯ ¼â€° 2 ni ï ¼Ë†Ã¤ ºÅ'ï ¼â€° 3 san ï ¼Ë†Ã¤ ¸â€°Ã¯ ¼â€° 4 yon/shi ï ¼Ë†Ã¥â€ºâ€ºÃ¯ ¼â€° 5 go ï ¼Ë†Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¯ ¼â€° 6 roku ï ¼Ë†Ã¥â€¦ ­Ã¯ ¼â€° 7 nana/shichi ï ¼Ë†Ã¤ ¸Æ'ï ¼â€° 8 hachi ï ¼Ë†Ã¥â€¦ «Ã¯ ¼â€° 9 kyuu/ku ï ¼Ë†Ã¤ ¹ Ã¯ ¼â€° 10 juu ï ¼Ë†Ã¥  Ã¯ ¼â€° Once youve memorized one through 10, its easy to figure out the rest of the numbers in Japanese.   To form numbers from 11~19, start with juu (10) and then add the number you need. Twenty is ni-juu (2X10) and for twenty one, just add one (nijuu ichi). There is another numerical system in Japanese, which is the native Japanese numbers. The native Japanese numbers are limited to one through ten. 11 juuichi (10+1) 20 nijuu (2X10) 30 sanjuu (3X10) 12 juuni (10+2) 21 nijuuichi (2X10+1) 31 sanjuuichi (3X10+1) 13 juusan (10+3) 22 nijuuni (2X10+2) 32 sanjuuni (3X10+2) Translations for Numbers to Japanese Here are a few examples of how to translate a number from English/Arabic numerals into Japanese words. (a) 45(b) 78(c) 93 (a) yonjuu-go(b) nanajuu-hachi(c) kyuujuu-san Other Phrases Needed to Tell Time Ji時 means oclock. Fun/pun分means minutes. To express the time, say the hours first, then the minutes, then add desu㠁 §Ã£ â„¢. There is no special word for quarter hours. HanÃ¥ Å  means half, as in half past the hour. The hours are quite simple, but you need to watch out for four, seven and nine. 4 o' clock yo-ji (not yon-ji) 7 o' clock shichi-ji (not nana-ji) 9 o'clock ku-ji (not kyuu-ji) Here are some examples of mixed time numerals and how to pronounce them in Japanese: (a) 1:15(b) 4:30(c) 8:42 (a) ichi-ji juu-go fun(b) yo-ji han (yo-ji sanjuppun)(c) hachi-ji yonjuu-ni fun