Make time for this Japanese lesson!

So, you want to ask your friend if they can meet up again in two hours. Easy in English, right? And in Japanese? Maybe you want to talk about a meeting that happens every Monday. Do you have the Japanese skills to do it? Talking about the weather and stocks is just a natural part of the conversation. Will your Japanese help you talk about the weather or will you be wasting it?

Read this Japanese article for beginners to learn about time. It will help you understand time intervals such as nor jikan (“two hours”), and how to let people know about the actions you plan to take, such as kutsu or kaimasu (“I’m going to buy shoes”). You need this item to take your Japanese to the next level!
Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

mine saint – “all the world”

Matsumoto-joo – “Matsumoto Castle”

say oh – “half” (when used with time and a half)

jiyu-jikan – “leisure”

galore – “afternoons, PM”

ringo-en – “apple farm”

am – “now”

nor jikan – “two hours”

tabemasu – “eat” (masu form)

(o)soba – “buckwheat noodles”

Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:

Vocabulary and useful phrases
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juuni ji han “half past twelve, 12:30”
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they have means “half”. When we use it with a time, it means “and a half (30 minutes)”. However, the word order is different from English.

Correct: juuni ji han
Incorrect: Han juuni ji

Japanese / “English”
ichi-hee / “1:00”
ichi-ji-han / “1:30”
no hee / “2:00”
nor ji have / “2:30”
san hee / “3:00”
san ji han / “3:30”

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galore “afternoons, PM”
enjoy “AM”
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In English, PM and AM come after the hour, while galore (PM) and enjoy (AM) come before the time in Japanese.

For example:

1. 8:00 PM Correct: gogo, hachi-hee Incorrect: hachi ji gogo
2. 8:00 AM Correct: gozen, hachi-hee Incorrect: hachi ji gozen

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nor jikan “2 hours”
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Jikan is an hour counter.

“English” / Japanese
“for an hour” / ichijikan
“during two hours” / nor jikan
“for three hours” / san jikan
“for four hours” / I jikan
“for five hours” / go jikan
“for six hours” / roku jikan
“for seven hours” / nana-jikan Prayed shichijikan
“for eight hours” / hachijikan
“for nine hours” / kujikan
“for ten hours” / juu-jikan
“How many hours?” / Nanjikan?
“an hour and a half” / ichi jikanhan

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Today’s target phrase
(Watashi wa) o-soba or tabemasu.
“I’m going to eat buckwheat noodles.”
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Japanese / “English”
Watashi / “I”
wow / “theme marker particle”
bear / “buckwheat noodles”
oh / “object marker particle”
tabemasu / “eat” (masu form)

We place the object marker particle oh after a noun and indicates that the noun is the object of the sentence. We use oh with transitive verbs.
Note that we can use Japanese sentences that end with -masu verbs for habitual or future actions. So, watashi wa o-soba or tabemasu can mean “I eat buckwheat noodles” or “I’m going to eat buckwheat noodles”.

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sentence patterns
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Affirmative sentences

1. Theme / Washington / object / oh / verb Watashi / wow / asa gohan / oh / tabemasu. Shizuka-san / wow / oh soba / oh / tabemasu. Watashi / wow / katsudon to sashimi / oh / tabemasu.

*Note:
asa gohan means “breakfast”.

Negative sentences a negative form of masu verbal form: SEE article 22 for beginners for more details.

1. Theme / Washington / object / oh / verb Watashi / wow / asa gohan / oh / tabemasen. mizuki-san / wow / oh soba / oh / tabemasen.

Issue Awards sentence final particle
what makes the award a question. SEE article 22 for beginners for more details.

1. Theme / Washington / object / oh / verb / what? (anata / wow) / asa gohan / oh / tabemasu / what? Lori-san / wow / oh soba / oh / tabemasu / what?

Answers:

1. Yes- Hello tabemasu. Nope- That is, kikimasen.

1. Theme / wow / nani (“what”) / oh / verb / what? (Anata / wah) / nani / oh / tabemasu / what? Lor-san / wow / nani / oh / tabemasu / what?

Please note that the anata The example is very direct and therefore considered somewhat rude. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid using it unless necessary.

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Examples with other verbs
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1. kikimasu “listen, listen” Japanese pod101o kikimasu. “I’m going to listen to Japanesepod101.” or “I listen to Japanesepod101.”
2. kaimasu “to buy” Kutsu or kaimasu. “I’m going to buy shoes.” or “I buy shoes”.
3. tabemasu “to eat” Niku or tabemasen. “I’m not going to eat meat.” or “I don’t eat meat.”
4. mimasu “to see” Terebi or mimasu ka? “Are you going to watch TV?”
5. nomimasu “to drink” Nani or nomimasu ka? “What will you drink?” or “What do you drink?”
6. shimasu “to do” Nichi yoobi nani or shimasu ka? “What are you going to do on Sunday?” or “What do you (usually) do on Sundays?”

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Practice:
Answer the following questions.
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1. Ongaku or kikimasu ka? (* ongaku means “music”)
2. Eiga or mimasu ka? (* eiga means “movies”)
3. Furansu no eiga or mimasu ka?)
4. O-sake or nomimasu ka? (* Oh good means “alcohol”)
5. Nichi yoobi nani or shimasu ka?