Lesson 55 - I'll meet you at 8:13

You already learned how to tell time just by the hours and halves, but now you will learn how to count the minutes. The counter for minute is either pun or fun depending on which number. The basic first ten minutes are:

一分 Ippun- one minute
二分 Nifun- two minutes
三分 Sanpun- three minutes
四分 Yonpun- four minutes
五分 Gofun- five minutes
六分 Roppun- six minutes
七分 Nanafun- seven minutes
八分 Happun- eight minutes
九分 Kyuufun- nine minutes
十分 Juppun- ten minutes

To go higher than that, count normally except with these numbers on the end. For example, to say 8:13, you would say hachiji juusanpun. A time like 11:45 would be juuichiji yonjuugofun. Alternatively, you could also say Juuniji juugofun mae desu. Mae means before, so the translation would be "15 minutes before 12:00". Let's talk between Brian and John.

Brian: Ima nanji desu ka.
John: Eeto... goji sanjuusanpun desu.
Brian: Dame desu! Eiga wa goji ni hajimarimashita.
John: Iie, chigaimasu. Eiga wa rokuji ni hajimarimasu.
Brian: Sou desu ka? Yokatta desu!
John: Eiga no mae ni RESUTORAN ni ikimashou.
Brian: Ikimashou!

Brian begins by asking, "What time is it now?" John replies, "Um... it is 5:33." Brian says, "That's no good! The movie began at 5:00." Hajimarimasu means "to begin". John replies Iie, chigaimasu, which means, "No, you're wrong." He then says the movie begins at 6:00. Brian says, "Is that so? I'm relieved." Even though yokatta is "was good", it can also show relief, like "Thank goodness." John suggests, "Let's go to the restaurant before the movie." Brian replies, "Let's go!"

Vocabulary Review
一分 Ippun- one minute
二分 Nifun- two minutes
三分 Sanpun- three minutes
四分 Yonpun- four minutes
五分 Gofun- five minutes
六分 Roppun- six minutes
七分 Nanafun- seven minutes
八分 Happun- eight minutes
九分 Kyuufun- nine minutes
十分 Juppun- ten minutes
前 Mae- before/in front of
始まります Hajimarimasu- to begin
違います Chigaimasu- to be wrong