Questions tagged [time]
時間表現. Grammar or words that express temporal information. Whereas tense is always relative to the moment of utterance, time is more absolutely located on an imaginary timeline.
155
questions
0
votes
1
answer
82
views
past verb + ところだった= Major difference from るところだった?
おや もう到着ですか
空想を楽しんでいたところだったのに
How does たところだった here work?
I understand
るところだった is "I almost did x" but how does it work with the past version then?
https://nihongonosensei.net/?p=12827
This ...
- 861
2
votes
1
answer
79
views
Past continous with adverbs of time
当時私は母が入れ物に入れた餌を自分で動物たちに与えた
I would have expected the above sentence to use てい form (与えていた) as it seems like a repeated action in the past. The speaker is talking about their childhood chores, so I ...
4
votes
1
answer
198
views
Is there an optimal placement for timing/frequency words?
I'm using Duolingo to supplement a 101 course I took and it doesn't really explain that well where timing/frequency words should appear in a sentence. For the sentence "I often play baseball with ...
- 143
2
votes
1
answer
255
views
Translating "In 10 years, I might be living in Japan."
Regarding periods of time, I know that for one-time-event verbs, there are a few options. For example, "I'll move in 10 years" could be 「10年後にひっこす」「10年でひっこす」「あと10年でひっこす」.
This link gives ...
- 1,900
1
vote
1
answer
132
views
Any differences between 「学生の時」 and 「学生だった時」?
They seem to mean the same, although I hear 「学生の時」 much more often.
Another example I'm unsure of is: 「犬が病気(の・だった)時、病院に連れていきました。」 "I took the dog to a vet when it was sick." Are both options ...
- 1,900
2
votes
1
answer
95
views
Are 過ぎ and 後 always interchangeable when used as a suffix in time expressions?
Lots of sites say that 過ぎ{すぎ} means past and that 後{ご} means after when using them as a suffix in time expressions. However, when I read sentences with English translations through the internet then ...
- 359
2
votes
1
answer
71
views
去年の一年 grammar and meaning
My Japanese teacher said this sentence during a lesson:
去年の一年で七月が一番暑かったです。
Does this have the same meaning as:
去年で七月が一番暑かったです。
Are there any nuances between the two versions ?
- 607
2
votes
2
answers
180
views
Do Japanese think of historical time as happening "in front" (前) of them?
According to Wiktionary, the etymology for the kanji 前 means "[walking] forward":
Originally 歬, an ideogrammic compound (會意): 止 (“foot”) + 舟 (“boat”) – a foot on a boat moving forward. ...
- 2,736
1
vote
1
answer
101
views
Is 6月 the subject in 6月は涼しい?
This webpage, under Specific Time, says that 6月 in 6月は涼しい is the subject of the sentence and thus does not take に, but that's like saying 日曜日は忙しい and ignoring the implied 私が. In the former case, that ...
- 1,510
2
votes
1
answer
225
views
Particle に (point in time) without a verb
Could the particle に (point in time) be in a sentence that doesn't end on a verb?
For example: 火曜日に日本語の勉強です。
If incorrect, could anyone explain why? Could it be that time-indicator に always needs a ...
- 167
0
votes
1
answer
106
views
Trouble interpreting time in a Soseki text passage お前が俺を殺したのは今からちょうど100年前だね
I just read Natsume Soseki’s The Third Night (『第三夜』), and I have trouble understanding well the time in that passage :
『お父さん、その杉のねだったね。』
『うん、そうだ。』と思わず答えてしまった。
『文化5年辰年だろう。』
なるほど文化5年辰年らしく思われた。
『...
- 65
3
votes
1
answer
152
views
Is the reading of 時【じ】 or 時【どき】here?
I asked about the reading of 時 in this post,
What is the reading of 開店時?
where the predominant view seems to be that it is 時【じ】.
Is it therefore also 時【じ】 in this sentence?
子【こ】どもの学校【がっこう】や習【なら】い事【ごと】...
- 1,816
2
votes
1
answer
180
views
What 中二日 means?
A sentence from こころ - 三話
それから中二日おいてちょうど三日目の午後だったと思う。
Due to 中二日, I'm uncertain about timeframe in this sentence. Based on what I know, 中二日 means a third business day. Does it mean
After that, three ...
- 2,122
4
votes
1
answer
356
views
What are the differences between 間中{あいだじゅう} and 間{あいだ}?
I recently learned different usages of both kanji and I saw it is possible to use the combination of both. It seems to me that 間中{あいだじゅう} isn't a new word. (The other readings don't matter now.)
Here ...
- 359
1
vote
1
answer
153
views
Using 年代 for decades when using 昭和XX年 for individual years
If you are describing a year as
昭和４１年
rather than
１９６６年
Can you similarly use 年代 for decades, such as
昭和４０年代
or does that convention only apply when using the Christian calendar
- 1,081
2
votes
2
answers
130
views
Do I always have to say 「来週の」when talking about a date next week?
I will use an English example as a sentence. Let's say today is Thursday.
What day are you going shopping next week?
I'm going shopping on Sunday.
Which is the correct way to answer in Japanese?
...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
161
views
Can 間 replace とき in the the following sentence?「口の中に食べ物があるときにしゃべってはいけません」
口の中に食べ物があるときにしゃべってはいけません
Book translation: you should not talk while you have food in your mouth
If I were to replace とき with 間, then the meaning would practically remain the same: as I see it, the ...
- 1,510
1
vote
1
answer
121
views
Usage of は in two different phrases
As far as I understand the は particle marks the theme of the sentence. Sometimes it happens to be the subject, sometimes not. Is there any difference between this two formulation of the same idea?
...
- 125
2
votes
3
answers
272
views
Is it not needed to use an adjective in the ta-form when paired with 時 as a temporal adverbial clause?
According to Essential Japanese Grammar by Masahiro Tanimori and Eriko Sato (page 352), we can pair adjectives in the ta-form with 時 to form a temporal adverbial clause. Strangely, the book doesn't ...
- 1,510
0
votes
2
answers
258
views
~ごろ or ~ぐらい for non-clock points in time?
This is probably a ridiculously simple question, but somehow I've been unable to pin down the answer myself. To say "about / approximately" for non-clock points in time, do you use ごろ or ...
- 1,900
5
votes
1
answer
467
views
How to determine if 先 refers to future or past events?
I had previously asked something similar in the past, and was convinced for a while that the the question was caused by a misquote. While that could still be part of it, I think I'm now able to ...
- 390
0
votes
2
answers
238
views
How do I ask how long something took without「くらい／ぐらい」？
This has been bothering me for months now. As far as I know,「くらい」and「ぐらい」are used to express approximate values. I want to ask how long something happened exactly. I know that I can use「ちょうど」and「正に」、...
8
votes
1
answer
818
views
Use of suffix 後 in place of a verb
姉は大学を卒業後、家族から独立している。 (source)
My sister has been independent of the family since she graduated from university.
(the comma is my own, to break up that horrible string of kanji)
This sentence seems a ...
- 29.4k
3
votes
1
answer
147
views
Why are these sentences with conditional forms not correct?
I'm struggling a lot with the use of conditional forms, especially using ～たら and ～なら. I recently had the following sentences corrected by my Japanese teacher:
a. 専門書を買ったら、私にも見せてください。
b. 専門書を買うなら、...
- 41
1
vote
1
answer
297
views
What does きた do in this sentence
What is the difference between
中学生になってもずっとボーッと生きてきたけど
中学生になってもずっとボーッと生きたけど
What does きた do in this sentence this is from the second episode of the anime K-On! the character is telling a story about ...
- 313
2
votes
2
answers
592
views
Use of に with 先週
I saw this sentence on a Japanese teaching site:
事故は先週に起こった
The incident occurred last week
I feel very uncomfortable with the に on 先週.
This post and this post seem to back up my discomfort. Is this ...
- 29.4k
1
vote
2
answers
154
views
「あと3日だな」 means what exactly?
This is based on a listening exercise I'm trying to understand.
In this exercise, we don't know what day it currently is, but an event is planned for Saturday.
One speaker says:
あと[3日]{みっか}だな…
My ...
- 339
4
votes
1
answer
164
views
The Difference Between に and で when indicating the time when something terminates
I was reading through the Dictionary of Basic Grammar and found that one of the four usages of the で particle is to mark the time when something terminates, similar to the following sentence:
パーティーは ...
- 1,061
0
votes
1
answer
158
views
Is the に time particle optional when talk about repeated action?
I have already learned about に time particle (in short: determines the action time if the time expression isn't relative). But I saw some text where dropped when used the まいとし, まいつき、まいにち etc.
For ...
- 359
1
vote
1
answer
249
views
Time and duration problem from "Nihongo So-Matome N3 - Listening"
One of the questions from Nihongo So-Matome N3 - Listening:
男【おとこ】の人【ひと】と女【おんな】の人【ひと】が話し【はなし】ています。男【おとこ】の人【ひと】は、明日【あす】何時【なんじ】ごろ家【いえ】を出ます【でます】か。
女【おんな】：明日【あした】の飛行機【ひこうき】、何時【なんじ】？
男【おとこ】：えーと、１６時半【じはん】...
- 513
7
votes
1
answer
665
views
When would you use 30分{ぷん} versus 半{はん} for telling time?
I know telling time in English, you can say "It is 3:30" or "It is half past 3" and they can be used interchangeably.
When telling the time in Japanese, is this still the case? Can ...
- 223
0
votes
1
answer
118
views
Why is 毎日 placed before 家 here?
"妻は毎日家でお茶を飲みます。"
It seems so weird. I was told by a Native that in Japanese, they tend to put words for time at the start of the sentence, so putting it before 妻 makes sense to me. I'm using ...
- 41
3
votes
1
answer
769
views
Is there anything wrong with the sentence "今午前七時間です"?
I'm reviewing the first section of Lingodeer by redoing all the tests. It wanted me to type out "It's 7 a.m. now." I typed this in and got it wrong.
The correct answer was simply to remove 間,...
- 41
2
votes
1
answer
164
views
Word Order で And に before topic
I am Slightly confused about the word order for に And で
Are both of these examples correct and the only difference the emphasis?
私は夏に公園で先生に会います: I am meeting my teacher at the park in the summer
...
- 343
2
votes
0
answers
112
views
Why are some terms for relative time irregular?
For current time the Kanji 今{いま} for "now" can always used. Why is it that Kanji for previous (去 / 昨 / 先) and next (来 / 明) times are different and have irregular readings? In some cases it ...
- 1,358
3
votes
1
answer
154
views
Understanding 「たった三十分のあいだに、高木の変わり様といったらなかった。」
たった三十分のあいだに、高木の変わり様といったらなかった。
I'm not at all clear on the translation or nuance here. Source is a NLPT N1 grammar question.
Confusion #1: The use of に in 「たった三十分のあいだに」. If the translation is "in ...
- 1,900
2
votes
1
answer
73
views
When stating the time does minutes 分 need to be stated?
For example: It's 6:15.
六時十五分です
Could I just say:
六時十五です
or just:
六時十五
- 2,412
9
votes
2
answers
426
views
Why can we not use に to mark absolute time with i-adjectives?
EDIT: Still looking for a complete answer. Please read the edit below.
This is something I've been wondering for some time now. And this is also not related to relative temporal nouns, I understand ...
- 93
1
vote
1
answer
149
views
一週間前までに Meaning
The full sentence is
見学を希望する場合は、一週間前までに担当者を通じて申し込んでください。
I want to know this 一週間前までに meaning. I tried thinking and came up with "within one week before (the deadline which is not mentioned)" but I'...
- 513
1
vote
2
answers
119
views
Which order sounds the more natural between「私は最近…」 and 「最近私は…」?
When giving news to Japanese friends, I always wonder if I should write「私は[最近]{さいきん}こういう仕事をしています」 or 「[最近]{さいきん}、私はこういう仕事をしています」.
Is there a recommended order for temporal markers like [現在]{げんざい} or [...
- 519
6
votes
1
answer
451
views
Counting Duration of Months
When counting duration in months, is it ~ヶ月間or just ~ヶ月? Example:
私はもう六ヶ月ぐらい日本語を勉強しています。
ジルと暮らした四ヶ月間
( btw I don't know what the second example means I just took it from my textbook so I would ...
- 137
1
vote
1
answer
148
views
行く 帰る 来る + time expression - how it works
Phrases like 5[時]{じ}に[帰]{かえ}ります or 3[時]{じ}に[行]{い}きます or 8[時]{じ}に[来]{き}ます are the very basics one can find in a beginner's book. And despite that, I have yet to see an explanation what exactly they ...
- 63
10
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Casual way to say: ''See you tomorrow at (some time)''
Lets say 11am
How would you say: ''See you tomorrow at 11.'' ?
All I have is :
ashita wa juuichi ji ni ... what now ? ...
I found this expression online :
11 のあなたは見てください
- 2,412
4
votes
1
answer
424
views
Confusion about time scope of 日をもって
I have a sentence in the form 10月10日をもって辞めたい, for example。
Does this をもって mean "before", or "after".
Am I free on 10日 (i.e. work till 9日23:59). Or I still have to work on 10日, and get free on 11日?
...
- 183
3
votes
1
answer
240
views
Couldn't "ni" particle be used in this example?
I'm a total newbie learning japanese as you will see, so please be patient with me. I have this sentence from my textbook:
Shiken no toki jisho o minai de kudasai!
Because it was a new lesson, I ...
- 153
0
votes
0
answers
53
views
time expression + 置く [duplicate]
I've found this example sentence for 置く in my textbook:
三日置いて治った。(She recovered after three days).
I've looked this usage up but really couldn't find anything relevant. Could you clarify how and ...
- 41
3
votes
2
answers
243
views
JLPT N1 listening question: Confused about sequence of events
There is a JLPT N1 listening practice question from a third-party website, and I believe its answer is incorrect, but want to make sure. The script is copied below.
農園で男の人が農業体験の参加者に話しています。...
- 1,900
3
votes
1
answer
296
views
noun +うちに and noun+間に
When 間【あいだ】に and うちに are preceded by nouns, are they always interchangeable? For example, in 春【はる】休【やす】みのあいだに/うちに友達【ともだち】と一緒【いっしょ】に出掛【でか】けたい。 And also in: 大学生【だいがくせい】のうちに/間【あいだ】に留学【りゅうがく】する。
- 1,375
2
votes
1
answer
99
views
Meaning of 全数 when talking about frequency
In an article about quality control, I found the following expression:
検査頻度: 全数
I read in the dictionary that 全数 means "total, complete". Since we are talking about frequency, I thought it could ...
- 4,473
1
vote
1
answer
133
views
What is the origin of おやつ and やつどき?
I was trying to express the word snacks, which my friend shared with me that it is called "おやつ", or "お八つ”。 I subsequently found the related expression of "やつどき", or "八つ時”。
a) What is this system of ...
- 57