Shopping Guide
Hey everyone, guess what time it is! It’s time for another chance to win TOM Points and learn more Japanese in this latest installment of The Beginner’s Guide to Otaku Japanese! We’ve put together multiple categories of vocabulary to help organize all this information. After you’ve learned everything, you’ll stand the chance to win TOM Points by taking a quiz! Best of luck!
Words Having to do with Time
The Day
Kyou - today
Kinou - yesterday
Ashita - tomorrow
Ototoi - the day before yesterday
Asatte - the day after tomorrow
Day of the Week
There is a formula to this one: The ending is always -youbi, and it is preceded by an element.
Nichiyoubi (sun) - Sunday
Getsuyoubi (moon) - Monday
Kayoubi (fire) - Tuesday
Suiyoubi (water) - Wednesday
Mokuyoubi (wood) - Thursday
Kinyoubi (gold) - Friday
Doyoubi (earth) - Saturday
The Week
Shuu- week
Senshuu- last week
Konshuu- this week
Raishuu- next week
Time
Jikan - time
Fun - minute (this is pronounced like “foon”!)
Nanji - What time is it?
Nanpun - How many minutes?
Counting in Japanese
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!
Ichi, ni, san, shi/yo, go, roku, shichi/nana, hachi, kyuu, juu!
Hour
Number + ji = hour
e.g.) 2 (ni) + ji = 2 o’ clock (niji)
Minute
Number + fun = minute
e.g.) 2 (ni) + fun = 2 minutes (nifun)
Now, put them together!
A: Nanji desuka? (What time is it?)
B: Juu ji juugo fun desu. (It’s 10:15.)
Contest: Translation Game
Now that you’ve learned the expressions, try completing this exercise to stand a chance to win $5 in TOM Points! Simply translate the words in bold into Japanese using your new knowledge. Submit your answers using this form.
1) It’s sushi-**time**, isn’t it?
2) I lost my glasses on Monday.
3) Right now it’s 11 o’ clock in Japan… My uncle’s probably preparing mid-morning tea.
4) Hey, what time is it?
5) Yesterday, it was 9 o’ clock when I came home from school.
6) The episode of Sailor Moon that released last week was so great, but I think that the episode released this week will be much better!
7) Every Friday I watch Sailor Moon, but on Tuesdays I like to watch reruns of A Certain Scientific Railgun.
8) I’m so excited for tomorrow! My family’s taking a trip to the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto!
9) We have to get going in 5 minutes or we won’t make it for the train!
10) Let’s go visit my friend Tanbabashi the day after tomorrow! Today he bought Suki Pig 3, and he wants me to bring some friends over to play!
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode Summer Ninja Academy 2014 original article
