時間

Counter for Hours

Level 1Sounds Like jikan

Use [Number] + 時間 (じかん) to say 'for X hours'. It is the standard way to measure a span of time, distinct from telling the time on a clock.

How It Works

1. Basic Usage
To express how long an activity lasts, attach 時間（じかん） to a Sino-Japanese number. Unlike minutes, the pronunciation of じかん remains stable and does not change based on the number preceding it.

2. Duration vs. Point in Time
Be careful not to confuse 時（じ） with 時間（じかん）.

  • 時（じ）: A specific point in time (e.g., 3:00).
  • 時間（じかん）: A length of time (e.g., 3 hours).

3. Specific Number Readings
Pay close attention to these specific numbers:

  • 4 hours: よじかん (Never よん or し)
  • 7 hours: ななじかん or しちじかん (ななじかん is very common in speech to avoid confusion with 1 hour)
  • 9 hours: くじかん (Never きゅう)
  • How many hours?: なんじかん

4. Half-Hours and Approximations
To say 'half' an hour, add 半（はん） after the counter: 一時間半（いちじかんはん - one hour and a half). To say 'about', add ぐらい after the counter: 二時間ぐらい（にじかんぐらい - about two hours).

5. Particle Usage
Durations typically function as adverbs and do not require the particle に. However, when expressing frequency (e.g., 'three hours per day'), the particle に is used after the time period: 一日に三時間（いちにちにさんじかん - 3 hours a day).

6. School Context
In schools, 時間 is also used to count class periods. Adding the ordinal suffix 目（め） creates '1st period' (一時間目), '2nd period' (二時間目), and so on.

Examples (6)

  1. 毎日、八時間寝ます。

    I sleep for eight hours every day.

    Word by Word: Every day, eight-hours sleep.

    Here, 八時間（はちじかん）shows the duration of sleep. Notice there is no particle after the duration.

  2. ここから東京まで三時間かかります。

    It takes three hours from here to Tokyo.

    Word by Word: From here Tokyo until three-hours takes.

    かかります is the standard verb used with time durations to mean 'it takes'.

  3. 昨日は四時間勉強しました。

    I studied for four hours yesterday.

    Word by Word: Yesterday, four-hours studied.

    Note the reading of 4 hours as 四時間（よじかん）.

  4. 何時間休みましたか。

    How many hours did you rest?

    Word by Word: How many hours rested?

    何時間（なんじかん）is the question word for 'how many hours'.

  5. 一日に二時間ぐらいゲームをします。

    I play games for about two hours a day.

    Word by Word: One-day in two-hours about games do.

    This sentence shows two key points: using に to show frequency (per day) and ぐらい to mean 'about'.

  6. 一時間目は数学です。

    The first period is math.

    Word by Word: First-period-marker math is.

    In a school context, adding 目（め） to the counter indicates the specific class period.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing a point in time (時) with a duration (時間).

    三時に勉強しました。
    三時間勉強しました。

    三時（さんじ）に means 'at 3:00'. If you want to say you studied 'for 3 hours', you must use 三時間（さんじかん）.

  • Using the particle 'ni' with a duration.

    二時間に待ちました。
    二時間待ちました。

    Time durations act like adverbs and do not need the particle に. に is only for specific points in time (like 3:00 or Monday).

  • Incorrect reading for 4 hours.

    よんじかん勉強しました。
    よじかん勉強しました。

    When counting hours or telling time, 4 is always read as よ, never よん or し.

How It Connects

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時間Level 1Counter for Hours

Learn This First

To learn how to count hours (時間), you first need to understand the basic system for telling time (時) and the general concept of how counters function in Japanese grammar.

Words in This Pattern