Periods of Time

Written by flutemajor14

Today is yet another short lesson. We will be going over how to say something is being/was done over a period of so many hours. First, some vocabulary.

~じかん (時かん) = …hours
~ぐらい = About (approximate measurement)

To talk about how long you did something, use 時かん. For example:
わたしは日本語を一時かんべんきょうしました。
For one hour, I studied Japanese. Notice there is no particle following the time lapse. So far, I have not come across a situation in which a particle does follow.

If you want to say you did something for 1.5 hours or about 1 hour, add ぐらい after 時かん.

わたしはきっさてんでともだちを一時かん半まちました。(I waited for a friend at the coffee shop/cafe for an hour and a half)

わたしはきっさてんでともだちを一時かんぐらいまちました。 (I waited for a friend at the coffee shop/cafe for about an hour.)

Now, what if you want to say you waited for about an hour and a half? Well, a little tip, ぐらい always comes last.

わたしはきっさてんでともだちを一時かん半ぐらいまちました。 (I waited for a friend at the coffee shop/cafe for about an hour and a half.)

Not too long of a lesson! So, here are a couple of practice sentences. Practice by translating!

  1. I waited at the bus stop for 2 hours.
  2. Yesterday, I slept for about 8 and a half hours.
  3. I studied history for about 1 hour.
  4. Today, I listened to music for an hour and a half.

That`s all I have for today! I hope things are going well. Those of you taking the JLPT, I wish you luck! If you have any questions about the format of the test and how to study, feel free to ask! I`ve taken it once before (N5 only) and have an idea of how it goes. I also have a post on how I studied for the previous test on my blog. Here is the link. がんばってください!

Also, sorry to bring this up again, but if you find these posts helpful or are interested in my background, check out my GoFundMe page! Read my story, find out what I`m about. If you like it or want to support what I`m doing, please share the link! If you feel so compelled, please click the donate button. All donations go towards helping to pay off my student loans. The exchange rate from yen to dollars is really putting  a dent in my income every month and every bit would help! Thank you to those who at least took the time to click and read.

Here are your answers

  1. わたしはバスていで二時かんまちました。
  2. きのう、わたしは八時かん半ぐらいねました。
  3. わたはれきしを一時かんぐらいべんきょうしました。
  4. きょう、わたしはおんがくを一時かん半聞きました。

がんばってください!

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