Time in Japanese uses counters attached to numbers. The hour and minute systems are mostly regular. The days of the month are where you put in memorisation work.
Hours and minutes
The hour uses 時 (ji) and the minute uses 分 (fun or pun). Half past is 半 (han).
sanji, three o'clock
yojihan, half past four (note: four is yo, not yon, here)
juuji juugofun, ten fifteen
Asking the time
ima nanji desu ka, what time is it now?
Days of the week
Each day ends in 曜日 (youbi). 月曜日 (getsuyoubi, Monday), 火曜日 (kayoubi, Tuesday), and so on through 日曜日 (nichiyoubi, Sunday). The first character of each comes from the classical names for the moon, fire, water, and the rest.
The irregular days of the month
This is the part that catches everyone. Days one through ten, plus the fourteenth, twentieth, and twenty-fourth, use special readings that do not follow the number plus 日 pattern.
tsuitachi, the 1st (not ichinichi)
futsuka, the 2nd
hatsuka, the 20th
Big picture
For large numbers and the imperial era years that appear on official dates, see the numbers and dates guide.
Test one of these examples in the translator and see how it comes out.
Open the Translator