Numbers and Months
Today I will be learning how to count to 100 and work with numbers and months. It's actually pretty easy learning to count to 100 and learning each month in Japanese. Here's a chart:
0 - zero (seh-roh)
1 - ichi (ee-chee)
2 - ni (knee)
3 - san (sah-n)
4 - yon (yoh-n)
5 - go (go)
6 - roku (roh-koo)
7 - nana/shichi (nah-nah/shee-chee) I have seen either nana or shichi representing 7 depending on what site you go to so I think there are two ways to say that number...
8 - hachi (hah-chee)
9 - kyuu (key-you)
10 - juu (jew)
11 - juuichi (jew-ee-chee)
12 - juuni (jew-knee)
13 - juusan (jew-sah-n)
14 - juuyon (jew-yoh-n)
15 - juugo (jew-go)
16 - juuroku (jew-roh-koo)
17 - juunana/shichi (jew-nah-nah/shee-chee)
18 - juuhachi (jew-hah-chee)
19 - juukyuu (jew-key-you)
20 - nijuu
21 - nijuuichi (knee-jew-ee-chee)
22 - nijuuni (knee-jew-knee)
23 - nijuusan (knee-jew-sah-n)
24 - nijuuyon (knee-jew-yoh-n)
25 - nijuugo (knee-jew-go)
26 - nijuuroku (knee-jew-roh-koo)
27 - nijuunana/shichi (knee-jew-nah-nah/shee-chee)
28 - nijuuhachi (knee-jew-hah-chee)
29 - nijuukyuu (knee-jew-key-you)
30 - sanjuu (sah-n-jew)
40 - yonjuu (yoh-n-jew)
50 - gojuu (go-jew)
60 - rokujuu (roh-koo-jew)
70 - nana/shichijuu (nah-nah/shee-chee-jew)
80 - hachijuu (hah-chee-jew)
90 - kyuujuu (key-you-jew)
100 - hyaku (hi-yah-koo)
See that wasn't so bad now was it? It took me about 30 minutes to get the hang of it and start remembering it. Of course you have to keep practicing for awhile, but it gets easier.
Next we'll go over the months, which co-insides with the number lesson. All you do is take the number of the month and add "gatsu" to it. So if I wanted to say February, I would say "ni-gatsu."
January - ichi-gatsu (ee-chee-gah-tsoo)
February - ni-gatsu (nee-gah-tsoo)
March - san-gatsu (sahn-gah-tsoo)
April - yon-gatsu (yahn-gah-tsoo)
May - go-gatsu (goh-gah-tsoo)
June - roku-gatsu (roh-koo-gah-tsoo)
July - nana/shichi-gatsu (nah-nah-shee-chee-gah-tsoo)
August - hachi-gatsu (hah-chee-gah-tsoo)
September - ku-gatsu (koo-gah-tsoo)
October - ju-gatsu (jooo-gah-tsoo)
November - ju-ichi-gatsu (jooo-ee-chee-gah-tsoo)
December - ju-ni-gatsu (jooo-nee-gah-tsoo)
Next we'll move to telling time and days of the week:
Taken from: http://www.learnjapanesefree.com/counters-in-japanese.html
Monday - getsuyobi (geh-tsoo-yohh-bee)
Tuesday - kayobi (kah-yohh-bee)
Wednesday - suiyobi (soo-ee-yohh-bee)
Thursday - mokuyobi (moh-koo-yohh-bee)
Friday - kinyobi (keen-yohh-bee)
Saturday - doyobi (doh-yohh-bee)
Sunday - nichiyobi (nee-chee-yohh-bee)
Here are some useful phrases containing the days of the week:
* KyO wa nanyobi desu ka. (kyohh wah nahn-yohh-bee deh-ss-kah; What day is it today?)
* Kyo wa doyobi desu. (kyohh wah doh-yohh-bee deh-ss; Today is Saturday.)
* Getsuyobi kara kinyobi made hatarakimasu. (geh-tsoo-yohh-bee kah-rah keen-yohh-bee mah-deh hah-tah-rah-kee-mah-soo; 1 work from Monday to Friday.)
* Konsato wa doyobi desu. (kohn-sahh-toh wa doh-yohh-bee deh-ss; The concert is on Saturday.)
* Nichiyobi wa yukkuri shimasu. (nee-chee-yohh-bee wah yook-koo-ree shee-mah-soo; I relax on Sundays.)
Telling Time
You can express jikoku Qee-koh-koo; time) in Japanese by using the counter -ji (jee; o'clock), as shown in below table
Japanese Pronunciation Translation
1-ji ee-chee-jee 1 o'clock
2-ji nee-jee 2 o'clock
3-ji sahn-jee 3 o'clock
4-ji yohn-jee 4 o'clock
5-ji goh-jee 5 o'clock
6-ji roh-koo-jee 6 o'clock
7-ji nah-nah-jee 7 o'clock
8-ji hah-chee-jee 8 o'clock
9-Ji key-you-jee 9 o'clock
10-ji jooo-jee 10 o'clock
11-ji jooo-ee-chee-jee 11 o'clock
12-ji jooo-nee-jee 12 o'clock
If you want to specify gozen (goh-zehn; a.m.) or gogo (goh-goh; p.m.), put the appropriate word in front of the number. Here are a couple of examples:
* gozen 2-ji (goh-zehn nee-jee; 2 a.m.)
* gogo 3-san-ji 17-fun (goh-goh sahn-jee jooo-nah-nah-foon; 3:17 p.m.)
You can use the convenient phrase han (hahn; half) for "half an hour" or "30 minutes." Mae (mah-eh; before) and sugi (soo-gee; after) are also convenient for telling time. Sorry, but Japanese doesn't have a simple phrase for "quarter-hour" or "15 minutes."
To ask "What time is it now?" say Ima nan-ji desu ka (ee-mah nahn-jee deh-soo kah). Here are some possible answers:
* 1-ji han(ee-chee-jee hahn; 1:30)
* 2-ji 5-fun mae(nee-jee goh-foon mah-eh; 5 minutes before 2:00)
* 3-ji 5-fun sugi(sahn-jee goh-foon soo-gee; 5 minutes after 3:00)
Japanese schedules usually follow the 24-hour system. For example, 1-ji (ee-chee-jee) means 1 a.m., and 13-ji Qooo-sahn-jee) means 1 p.m. All you need to do is say the number and add -ji to the end. This system eliminates a.m./p.m. ambiguity, so you don't need to say gozen or gogo.
To ask questions like at what time, from what time, and until what time, you need the particle ni (nee; at), kara (kah-rah; from), or made (mah-deh; until). Make sure you place the particle after the time phrase. Grammatically speaking, Japanese is often the mirror image of English, and this is one of those times. "At 5:00" is "5:00 at" in Japanese, "from 7:00" is "7:00 from" in Japanese, and "until 9:00" is "9:00 until" in Japanese.
* Nan-ji kara desu ka. Ni-ji kara desu. (nahn-jee kah-rah deh-soo kah. nee-jee kah-rah deh-soo; From what time is it? From 2:00.)
* Nan-ji made desu ka. San-ji made desu. (nahn-jee mah-deh deh-soo kah. sahn-jee mah-deh deh-soo; Until what time is it? Until 3:00.)
* Konsato wa nan-ji ni hajimanmasu ka. San-ji ni hajimarimasu.(kohn-sahh-toh wah nahn-jee nee hah-jee-mah-ree-mah-soo kah. sahn-jee nee hah-jee-mah-ree-mah-soo; What time does the concert start? It starts at 3:00.)
* Ega wa 11-ji kara 12-ji made desu. (ehh-gah wah jooo-ee-chee-jee kah-rah jooo-nee-jee mah-deh deh-soo; The movie is from 11:00 to 12:00.)
If you don't need to express an exact time, you can estimate the time of day by using the following terms:
* asa (ah-sah; morning)
* hiru (hee-roo; noon)
* ban (bahn; evening)
* mayonaka (mah-yoh-nah-kah; midnight)
Words to Know
nan-ji nahn-jee what time
gogo goh-goh p.m.
gozeh goh-zehn a.m.
-Ji jee o'clock
han hahn half an hour
5-fun goh-fopn 5 minutes
10-pun joop-poon 10 minutes
mae mah-eh before
sugi soo-gee past, after
Once I master the time and days, I'll move to writing in the real Japanese characters.
0 - zero (seh-roh)
1 - ichi (ee-chee)
2 - ni (knee)
3 - san (sah-n)
4 - yon (yoh-n)
5 - go (go)
6 - roku (roh-koo)
7 - nana/shichi (nah-nah/shee-chee) I have seen either nana or shichi representing 7 depending on what site you go to so I think there are two ways to say that number...
8 - hachi (hah-chee)
9 - kyuu (key-you)
10 - juu (jew)
11 - juuichi (jew-ee-chee)
12 - juuni (jew-knee)
13 - juusan (jew-sah-n)
14 - juuyon (jew-yoh-n)
15 - juugo (jew-go)
16 - juuroku (jew-roh-koo)
17 - juunana/shichi (jew-nah-nah/shee-chee)
18 - juuhachi (jew-hah-chee)
19 - juukyuu (jew-key-you)
20 - nijuu
21 - nijuuichi (knee-jew-ee-chee)
22 - nijuuni (knee-jew-knee)
23 - nijuusan (knee-jew-sah-n)
24 - nijuuyon (knee-jew-yoh-n)
25 - nijuugo (knee-jew-go)
26 - nijuuroku (knee-jew-roh-koo)
27 - nijuunana/shichi (knee-jew-nah-nah/shee-chee)
28 - nijuuhachi (knee-jew-hah-chee)
29 - nijuukyuu (knee-jew-key-you)
30 - sanjuu (sah-n-jew)
40 - yonjuu (yoh-n-jew)
50 - gojuu (go-jew)
60 - rokujuu (roh-koo-jew)
70 - nana/shichijuu (nah-nah/shee-chee-jew)
80 - hachijuu (hah-chee-jew)
90 - kyuujuu (key-you-jew)
100 - hyaku (hi-yah-koo)
See that wasn't so bad now was it? It took me about 30 minutes to get the hang of it and start remembering it. Of course you have to keep practicing for awhile, but it gets easier.
Next we'll go over the months, which co-insides with the number lesson. All you do is take the number of the month and add "gatsu" to it. So if I wanted to say February, I would say "ni-gatsu."
January - ichi-gatsu (ee-chee-gah-tsoo)
February - ni-gatsu (nee-gah-tsoo)
March - san-gatsu (sahn-gah-tsoo)
April - yon-gatsu (yahn-gah-tsoo)
May - go-gatsu (goh-gah-tsoo)
June - roku-gatsu (roh-koo-gah-tsoo)
July - nana/shichi-gatsu (nah-nah-shee-chee-gah-tsoo)
August - hachi-gatsu (hah-chee-gah-tsoo)
September - ku-gatsu (koo-gah-tsoo)
October - ju-gatsu (jooo-gah-tsoo)
November - ju-ichi-gatsu (jooo-ee-chee-gah-tsoo)
December - ju-ni-gatsu (jooo-nee-gah-tsoo)
Next we'll move to telling time and days of the week:
Taken from: http://www.learnjapanesefree.com/counters-in-japanese.html
Monday - getsuyobi (geh-tsoo-yohh-bee)
Tuesday - kayobi (kah-yohh-bee)
Wednesday - suiyobi (soo-ee-yohh-bee)
Thursday - mokuyobi (moh-koo-yohh-bee)
Friday - kinyobi (keen-yohh-bee)
Saturday - doyobi (doh-yohh-bee)
Sunday - nichiyobi (nee-chee-yohh-bee)
Here are some useful phrases containing the days of the week:
* KyO wa nanyobi desu ka. (kyohh wah nahn-yohh-bee deh-ss-kah; What day is it today?)
* Kyo wa doyobi desu. (kyohh wah doh-yohh-bee deh-ss; Today is Saturday.)
* Getsuyobi kara kinyobi made hatarakimasu. (geh-tsoo-yohh-bee kah-rah keen-yohh-bee mah-deh hah-tah-rah-kee-mah-soo; 1 work from Monday to Friday.)
* Konsato wa doyobi desu. (kohn-sahh-toh wa doh-yohh-bee deh-ss; The concert is on Saturday.)
* Nichiyobi wa yukkuri shimasu. (nee-chee-yohh-bee wah yook-koo-ree shee-mah-soo; I relax on Sundays.)
Telling Time
You can express jikoku Qee-koh-koo; time) in Japanese by using the counter -ji (jee; o'clock), as shown in below table
Japanese Pronunciation Translation
1-ji ee-chee-jee 1 o'clock
2-ji nee-jee 2 o'clock
3-ji sahn-jee 3 o'clock
4-ji yohn-jee 4 o'clock
5-ji goh-jee 5 o'clock
6-ji roh-koo-jee 6 o'clock
7-ji nah-nah-jee 7 o'clock
8-ji hah-chee-jee 8 o'clock
9-Ji key-you-jee 9 o'clock
10-ji jooo-jee 10 o'clock
11-ji jooo-ee-chee-jee 11 o'clock
12-ji jooo-nee-jee 12 o'clock
If you want to specify gozen (goh-zehn; a.m.) or gogo (goh-goh; p.m.), put the appropriate word in front of the number. Here are a couple of examples:
* gozen 2-ji (goh-zehn nee-jee; 2 a.m.)
* gogo 3-san-ji 17-fun (goh-goh sahn-jee jooo-nah-nah-foon; 3:17 p.m.)
You can use the convenient phrase han (hahn; half) for "half an hour" or "30 minutes." Mae (mah-eh; before) and sugi (soo-gee; after) are also convenient for telling time. Sorry, but Japanese doesn't have a simple phrase for "quarter-hour" or "15 minutes."
To ask "What time is it now?" say Ima nan-ji desu ka (ee-mah nahn-jee deh-soo kah). Here are some possible answers:
* 1-ji han(ee-chee-jee hahn; 1:30)
* 2-ji 5-fun mae(nee-jee goh-foon mah-eh; 5 minutes before 2:00)
* 3-ji 5-fun sugi(sahn-jee goh-foon soo-gee; 5 minutes after 3:00)
Japanese schedules usually follow the 24-hour system. For example, 1-ji (ee-chee-jee) means 1 a.m., and 13-ji Qooo-sahn-jee) means 1 p.m. All you need to do is say the number and add -ji to the end. This system eliminates a.m./p.m. ambiguity, so you don't need to say gozen or gogo.
To ask questions like at what time, from what time, and until what time, you need the particle ni (nee; at), kara (kah-rah; from), or made (mah-deh; until). Make sure you place the particle after the time phrase. Grammatically speaking, Japanese is often the mirror image of English, and this is one of those times. "At 5:00" is "5:00 at" in Japanese, "from 7:00" is "7:00 from" in Japanese, and "until 9:00" is "9:00 until" in Japanese.
* Nan-ji kara desu ka. Ni-ji kara desu. (nahn-jee kah-rah deh-soo kah. nee-jee kah-rah deh-soo; From what time is it? From 2:00.)
* Nan-ji made desu ka. San-ji made desu. (nahn-jee mah-deh deh-soo kah. sahn-jee mah-deh deh-soo; Until what time is it? Until 3:00.)
* Konsato wa nan-ji ni hajimanmasu ka. San-ji ni hajimarimasu.(kohn-sahh-toh wah nahn-jee nee hah-jee-mah-ree-mah-soo kah. sahn-jee nee hah-jee-mah-ree-mah-soo; What time does the concert start? It starts at 3:00.)
* Ega wa 11-ji kara 12-ji made desu. (ehh-gah wah jooo-ee-chee-jee kah-rah jooo-nee-jee mah-deh deh-soo; The movie is from 11:00 to 12:00.)
If you don't need to express an exact time, you can estimate the time of day by using the following terms:
* asa (ah-sah; morning)
* hiru (hee-roo; noon)
* ban (bahn; evening)
* mayonaka (mah-yoh-nah-kah; midnight)
Words to Know
nan-ji nahn-jee what time
gogo goh-goh p.m.
gozeh goh-zehn a.m.
-Ji jee o'clock
han hahn half an hour
5-fun goh-fopn 5 minutes
10-pun joop-poon 10 minutes
mae mah-eh before
sugi soo-gee past, after
Once I master the time and days, I'll move to writing in the real Japanese characters.