N5 · The basic sentence
Times, days and dates in a sentence
clock times, weekdays and dates with に, ごろ and ぐらい
A clock time, a weekday or a date takes に; words such as today and tomorrow do not; ごろ is "about" for a point in time, ぐらい for an amount.
At a glance
- Remember
- A time on the clock or the calendar takes に; today, tomorrow and every day do not.
- Form
- 七時にat seven o'clock
- Signal words
- 〜時に
- 〜曜日に
- 〜ごろ
- 〜ぐらい
- 何時
- いつ
- Trap
- Wrong:明日に会いましょう。Right:明日会いましょう。
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Japanese.
| at seven o'clock | 七時に |
| at half past three | 三時半に |
| on Monday | 月曜日に |
| on the 3rd of May | 五月三日に |
| tomorrow (no に) | 明日 |
| at about six | 六時ごろ |
| for about two hours | 二時間ぐらい |
| what time? when? | 何時、いつ |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Clock times, weekdays and dates take に.
毎朝六時に起きます。I get up at six every morning.
Words measured from today — today, tomorrow, every day — take no に.
明日、東京へ行きます。I am going to Tokyo tomorrow.
A date runs from large to small: year, month, day, time.
誕生日は三月十日です。My birthday is the 10th of March.
ごろ is "about" for a point in time; ぐらい is "about" for an amount.
八時ごろ家を出て、一時間ぐらい歩きます。I leave home at about eight and walk for about an hour.
Ask with なんじ, なんようび or いつ; いつ never takes に.
試験はいつですか。When is the exam?
Example sentences
授業は九時に始まります。Class starts at nine.
土曜日に友達と映画を見ます。On Saturday I am seeing a film with a friend.
今、何時ですか。What time is it now?
夏休みは七月二十日からです。The summer holidays start on the 20th of July.
昨日は十一時ごろ寝ました。Yesterday I went to bed at about eleven.
毎日三十分ぐらい日本語を勉強します。I study Japanese for about thirty minutes every day.
7 more example sentences
会議は二時半に終わりました。The meeting ended at half past two.
来週の金曜日に国へ帰ります。I am going back to my country next Friday.
今日は何曜日ですか。What day is it today?
駅まで十分ぐらいかかります。It takes about ten minutes to the station.
私は二千五年に生まれました。I was born in 2005.
毎晩十時ごろ寝ます。I go to bed at about ten every night.
店は午前十時から午後八時までです。The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
A learner who has just learnt that times take に puts it after every time word. 明日 is not a point on the clock or the calendar but a step counted from today, and such words stand on their own — exactly as English says "tomorrow" and not "on tomorrow".
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
How the numbers themselves are read — 四時, 九時, 十分, 二十日 — is on the numbers page. This topic is about putting them into a sentence. A clock time, a weekday or a date that says when something happens takes に: 七時に起きます, 月曜日に会います, 五月三日に生まれました.
Words that are measured from today take no に: 今日, 明日, 昨日, 毎日, 今週, 来年, 今. English has almost the same line — "on Monday" but "tomorrow" — and learners who know it still overuse に, because in Japanese it looks like one more particle that can never hurt.
A date runs from the largest unit to the smallest: year, month, day, weekday, time. 三月十日の午後三時 is "3 p.m. on the 10th of March". 午前 and 午後 stand before the hour, and 半 after it: 六時半, "half past six".
Two words for "about" divide the work. ごろ goes with a point in time — 八時ごろ, "at about eight" — and ぐらい (or くらい) with an amount or a length — 二時間ぐらい, "for about two hours". The question words follow the same pattern: 何時, 何曜日, 何月何日 — and いつ, "when", which never takes に.
A closer look
Points and lengths
Japanese keeps a point in time apart from a length of time, often with one extra syllable. 三時 is three o'clock; 三時間 is three hours. 三日 is the 3rd of the month or three days; 三週間 is three weeks, and three months is 三か月.
The particles follow the same split. A point takes に and ごろ: 三時ごろに着きます. A length takes no particle at all, or ぐらい: 三時間ぐらいかかります. Mixing the two — 三時間に for "for three hours" — is one of the commonest beginner slips.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
-
the time word is a weekday, a season or a part of the day
に may be dropped in conversation, especially at the start of a sentence: 日曜日、何をしますか. With 朝 and 昼 it is usually left out.
日曜日、何をしますか。What are you doing on Sunday?
These words sit between clock times and words like 明日: they name a point, but one that everybody can place without counting, so the particle adds little.
Worth knowing (1)
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Days of the month with old names
The 1st to the 10th, the 14th, the 20th and the 24th have readings of their own: 一日, 二日, 三日 … 十日, 二十日. The numbers page lists them all and has exercises for them.
四月一日から新しい仕事です。My new job starts on the 1st of April.
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