Routines
When and Where?
If you want to say when something happens, put に (ni) after the time!
七時に起きます。
Shichi‑ji ni okimasu.
(I) wake up at 7 o’clock.
Shichi‑ji ni okimasu.
(I) wake up at 7 o’clock.
You can also put に (ni) after a location to show where you’re going!
会社に行きません。
Kaisha ni ikimasen.
(I) am not going to work.
Kaisha ni ikimasen.
(I) am not going to work.
Similarly, you can also use へ (e) after a location to show where you’re going! Notice that in this situation, it’s pronounced e, not he!
八時に学校へ行きます。
Hachi‑ji ni gakkou e ikimasu.
(I) go to school at 8 o’clock.
Hachi‑ji ni gakkou e ikimasu.
(I) go to school at 8 o’clock.
What’s the difference? Well, に (ni) focuses on the journey and the destination of going somewhere, but へ (e) focuses more on the process of going. But don’t stress too much here. In daily life, they’re basically interchangeable.
Learning Kanji
We’ve mentioned before that kanji characters represent meaning. You can usually see those meanings from the words they appear in. Take a look at the kanji 学. Words with 学 always have something to do with learning!
| 学 learning | 学生 gakusei student 学校 gakkō school |
The words for a.m. and p.m. are also made up of two kanji. These words break down pretty straightforwardly. Take a look!
| 午 + 前 noon + before | 午前 gozen a.m. |
| 午 + 後 noon + after | 午後 gogo p.m. |
Talking Time
In English, we refer to midnight as 12 a.m.. In Japanese, you’d say it’s 0 a.m., which makes sense if you think about how it comes before 1 a.m.! When talking about time, people usually use the word 零 (rei) instead of ゼロ (zero)!
午前零時
gozen rei ji
twelve o’clock a.m.
Literal: zero o’clock a.m.
gozen rei ji
twelve o’clock a.m.
Literal: zero o’clock a.m.
In Japan, both 12 hour and 24 hour clock systems are used. When using the 12 hour system, keep in mind that words like 午前 (gozen) or 午後 (gogo) come first!
午後六時に食べます。
Gogo roku‑ji ni tabemasu.
(I) eat at six o’clock pm.
Gogo roku‑ji ni tabemasu.
(I) eat at six o’clock pm.
Not sure what time it is exactly? Just put ごろ (goro) after the time (but before に (ni))!
十二時ごろに食べます。
Jūni‑ji goro ni tabemasu.
(I) eat at around twelve o’clock.
Jūni‑ji goro ni tabemasu.
(I) eat at around twelve o’clock.