How to Ask the Time in Japanese: なんじですか for Beginners

The short answer

Ask いま、なんじですか (ima, nanji desu ka) when you want to know the current time. If the context is already clear, なんじですか (nanji desu ka) is enough.

Make an o'clock time

Put a number before じ (ji, o'clock). Use なんじ (nanji) instead of a number when you ask “what time?”

Four, seven and nine need attention: say よじ (yoji), しちじ (shichiji) and くじ (kuji), not yonji, nanaji or kyuuji.

Add minutes or half past

Put the minutes after the hour. The minute counter is read ふん (fun) or ぷん (pun), and its sound changes with some numbers.

For thirty minutes past the hour, you can also use はん (han, half).

This lesson introduces common minute forms, but learning each number together with ふん or ぷん is safer than guessing the pronunciation.

Ask what time something happens

Use なんじに (nanji ni) before an activity to ask at what time it happens. Use a specific time plus に to answer.

Practise with familiar daily actions such as おきる (okiru, wake up), ねる (neru, sleep or go to bed) and べんきょう (benkyou, study).

Ask about a schedule or start time

When you are checking a timetable, なんじですか asks for the clock time. To ask when an activity starts, put はなんじからですか after the activity. から means “from” or “starting at.”

The same question works for a class, a bus, work, or another event. The activity gives the question its context; なんじ asks for the hour, and から asks for the starting point.

Make plans with なんじに

Use the same pattern with あう (au, meet).

The ending ～ましょう is taught in the lesson on making shared suggestions.

なんじ and いつ

いつ (itsu) asks “when?” broadly. なんじ (nanji) asks for a clock time.

じ and じかん

じ (ji) gives a point on the clock. じかん (jikan) gives a duration in hours.

You may also see these written with kanji: なんじ as 何時, じ as 時, and じかん as 時間. You do not need to memorise those spellings before using the phrases.

Common beginner mistakes

• Using なんですか when you need a clock time. Ask なんじですか.
• Saying よんじ or きゅうじ. Four o'clock is よじ; nine o'clock is くじ.
• Confusing a clock time with a duration. さんじ is three o'clock; さんじかん is three hours.
• Dropping に in a simple exact-time routine sentence. Say しちじにおきます.

Practise saying it

Say the question, answer and routine sentence aloud.

A short role-play

Quick quiz

1. How do you ask “What time is it now?”
2. How do you say “It is three o'clock”?
3. What does しちじはん mean?
4. How do you ask “What time do you wake up?”
5. What is the difference between さんじ and さんじかん?

Answers

1. いま、なんじですか (ima, nanji desu ka).
2. さんじです (sanji desu).
3. 7:30 or half past seven.
4. なんじにおきますか (nanji ni okimasu ka).
5. さんじ is three o'clock; さんじかん is three hours.

Continue learning

Build more number and routine words with the YapaneseAI vocabulary library. Continue through the beginner learning hub for more practical lessons.