JLPT N5 Grammar: Time ~時

Time ~時

 TIME VOCABULARY: 

~時(じ)  hour [一時(いちじ) 1:00]
~時半(じはん) half hour [一時半(いちじはん) 1:30]
~分(ふん)  minutes [一分(いっぷん) one minute (notice the sound change: ippun)]
~ごろ about; around [一時(いちじ)ごろ around 1:00]
午前(ごぜん) A.M.; morning [午前八時(ごぜんはちじ) 8 A.M.]
午後(ごご) P.M.; afternoon [午後八時(ごごはちじ) 8 P.M.])

HOW TO USE: 

■ HOURS ~時: Add "ji" after numbers to give the hour of the day. 時 is the counter for hours.

■ HALF HOURS ~時半(じはん): Add after numbers to show the half hour. 半(はん) means "half." You'll see this kanji in words like 半島(はんとう) (peninsula—half an island) and 半額(はんがく) (half price—a sale)

1時半(いちじはん)
1:30

6時半(ろくじはん)
6:30

■ ABOUT ~ごろ: To show approximation, add ごろ after the hour.

２(に)時(じ)ごろ
about 2 o'clock
[You can write numbers in kanji or with numerals.]

■ MINUTES ~分: Add after numbers to give the minutes. While the pronunciation is ふん, it can also be ぷん depending on what number it follows. 分 is the counter for minutes. Pay attention to the bold variations below:)

Here are a few time examples:

６(ろく)時(じ)６(ろっ)分(ぷん) is the same thing as 6:06. [Notice the second "6" has a small っ when before 分. "Roppun" instead of "rokupun."]

１(いち)時(じ)５９(ごじゅうきゅう)分(ふん) is the same thing as 1:59.

Note: １(いち)時(じ)３０(さんじゅっ)分(ぷん) is the same thing as １(いち)時半(じはん) .

■午前~: Add before the hour to mean AM, the morning.

午前(ごぜん)１(いち)時(じ)
1 AM

午前(ごぜん)１１(じゅういち)時半(じはん)
11:30 AM

■午後~: Add before the hour to mean PM, the afternoon.

午後(ごご)１(いち)時(じ)
1 PM

午後(ごご)１１(じゅういち)時半(じはん)
11:30 PM