Numbers
| 1 | ichi | 11 | juu-ichi | 21 | nijuu-ichi |
| 2 | ni | 12 | juu-ni | 22 | nijuu-ni |
| 3 | san | 13 | juu-san | 23 | nijuu-san |
| 4 | shi / yon / (yo*) | 14 | juu-shi / juu-yon | 24 | nijuu-shi / nijuu-yon |
| 5 | go | 15 | juu-go | 25 | nijuu-go |
| 6 | roku | 16 | juu-roku | 26 | nijuu-roku |
| 7 | shichi / nana | 17 | juu-shichi / juu-nana | 27 | nijuu-shichi / nijuu-nana |
| 8 | hachi | 18 | juu-hachi | 28 | nijuu-hachi |
| 9 | kyuu / (ku*) | 19 | juu-kyuu | 29 | nijuu-kyuu |
| 10 | juu | 20 | ni-juu | 30 | san-juu |
Yo (4) and ku (9) are used for the time.
-ji, 8-ji desu
-ji is a counter meaning "o'clock", e.g. 2-ji (ni-ji) means "two o'clock".
As the chart shows, numbers 4, 7 and 9 can be read in more than one way
When expressing time, 4:00 is yo-ji, 9:00 is ku-ji. 7:00 is usually read as shichi-ji, but nana-ji is also acceptable.
| 1:00 | 1-ji | ichi-ji | 7:00 | 7-ji | shichi-ji, nana-ji |
| 2:00 | 2-ji | ni-ji | 8:00 | 8-ji | hachi-ji |
| 3:00 | 3-ji | san-ji | 9:00 | 9-ji | ku-ji* |
| 4:00 | 4-ji | yo-ji* | 10:00 | 10-ji | juu-ji |
| 5:00 | 5-ji | go-ji | 11:00 | 11-ji | juu-ichi-ji |
| 6:00 | 6-ji | roku-ji | 12:00 | 12-ji | juu-ni-ji |
Gozen & gogo"a.m. & p.m."
"a.m." is gozen, "p.m." is gogo. These words precede the time indicated.
Gozen hachi-ji "8 a.m.", Gogo ku-ji "9 p.m.".
Minutes
Minute is -fun or -pun. Han is common for "half past", for example, ni-ji han, 2:30.
| 5 minutes | go-fun | 10 minutes | juppun |
| 15 minutes | juugo-fun | 20 minutes | nijuppun |
| 25 minutes | nijuugo-fun | 30 minutes | sanjuppun |
| 35 minutes | sanjuugo-fun | 40 minutes | yonjuppun |
| 45 minutes | yonjuugo-fun | 50 minutes | gojuppun |
| 55 minutes | gojuugo-fun | 60 minutes | rokujuppun |
Nan-ji desu ka?"What time is it?"
Nan means "what" and nan-ji desu ka? means "What time is it?".
Kara & made"from" & "to", "until"
Kara means "from". 9-ji (ku-ji) kara desu can be translated into "It is from 9:00.", "It is open from 9:00.", or "It starts at 9:00.".
Made means "to" or "until". 5-ji (go-ji) made desu can mean "It closes at 5:00." or "It finishes at 5:00".
Chotto matte kudasai
Chotto matte kudasai is a common phrase for "Just a moment, please." or "Hold on, please." In Japanese. This is a casual expression. The formal expression is Shooshoo omachi kudasai.
Chotto means "a little" or "just". This word is frequently added to the beginning of a sentence in order to soften one's statement.
Soo desu ka"I see"
Soo desu means "Yes, it is." or "That's right.". Soo desu ka with the ending lowered is not a question but it means "I see".