We’ve learned a lot of time expressions in Japanese, and I’m confused by them…
Three types of time expressions
When combined with a verb other than the copula です (desu: to be), Japanese time expressions are categorized into the following three types:
WITH に
- Time (hour, minute, second)
- Date(year, month, date)
- Event day
See also :
OPTIONAL
- Day
See also :
WITHOUT に
- Other expressions
See also :
So, for example:
Time:
わたしは9時に学校へ行きます。
Watashi wa ku-ji ni gakkou e ikimasu.
I go to school at 9:00 am.
Date:
マイクさんは3月8日に日本へ来ました。
Maiku-san wa sangatsu yokka ni Nihon e kimashita.
Mike came to Japan on March 8th.
Event day:
誕生日に恋人とレストランへ行きました。
Tanjoubi ni koibito to resutoran e ikimashita.
I went to a restaurant with my lover on my birthday.
Day:
日曜日、山へ行きました。
Nichiyoubi, yama e ikimashita.
I went to the mountain on Sunday.
日曜日に山へ行きました。
Nichiyoubi ni yama e ikimashita.
I went to the mountain on Sunday.
Other expressions:
明日、会社へ行きます。
Ashita, kaisha e ikimasu.
I’ll go to work tomorrow.
今朝、病院へ行きました。
Kesa, byouin e ikimashita.
I went to the hospital this morning.
今週、どこも行きません。
Konshuu, dokomo ikimasen.
I won’t go anywhere this week.
毎日、学校へ行きます。
Mainichi, gakkou e ikimasu.
I go to school every day.
Time question words
The easiest time question word in Japanese isいつ (itsu: when), and it can be used anytime:
A:
いつ学校へ行きますか。
Itsu gakkou e ikimasu ka.
When do you go to school?
B:
9時に行きます。
Ku-ji ni ikimasu.
I go at 9:00 am.
But when we need to be more specific than いつ (itsu: when), we use 何 (nan) + X:
- 何時: nan-ji: what time
- 何分: nan-pun: what minute
- 何秒: nan-byou: what second
- 何年: nan-nen: what year
- 何月: nan-gatsu: what month
- 何日: nan-nichi: what date
- 何曜日: nan-youbi: what day of the week
For example:
A:
何時に学校へ行きますか。
Nan-ji ni gakkou e ikimasu ka.
What time do you go to school?
B:
9時に行きます。
Ku-ji ni ikimasu.
I go at 9:00 am.
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