Learn Japanese! You ask a lot of questions to sales reps. But, I bet what you ask all the time is, “What’s your schedule?” In Japan, you will find yourself needing to ask this important question frequently. More importantly, you will need to understand the person’s response. This article for beginners in Japanese makes it easy for you to request business hours. You will also learn important Japanese words, such as Donichi (“weekend”, “Saturday”, “Sunday”) and hei jitsu (“Laborable day”). This amazing Japanese article provides simple instructions for asking and talking about times of the day, such as morning and evening. If you’re looking for a simple Japanese article that teaches you the questions you’ll be asking all the time, look no further!
Vocabulary: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
kangoshi – “nurse”
shinsatsu – “medical examination, consultation”
jikan – “hour”
Donichi – “Weekend, Saturday, Sunday”
yasumi – “closed, holiday, day off”
as a – “morning”
hiru – “noon, day”
hei jitsu – “Laborable day”
Grammar: In this article, you will learn the following words and phrases:
Vocabulary and useful phrases
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Donichi – “weekend, Saturday, Sunday”
hei jitsu – “Laborable day”
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The word Donichi is a combination of the first Chinese character for Saturday (do-yoobi ) and Sunday ( nichi-yoobi ).
Also check out the seven days of the week in Newbie series season 4 article 19.
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Practice:
Translate the following words into English.
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nichi yoobi –
get your yobi –
ka yoobi –
make yoobi –
sui yoobi –
Moku-Yoobi –
Kin Yoobi –
sen shuu –
Kon-shuu –
Rai-shuu –
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as a – “tomorrow, AM”
hiru – “noon, day”
yugata – “early at night”
you – “night, late”
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We often use those words instead of enjoy (“AM”) and galore (“PM”) in a conversation.
*For more information on the use of enjoy and galore see article 22 of season 4 of the Newbie series.
- asa no hachi-hee — gozen hachi ji
- hiru no ichi-ji → gogo ichi hee
- Yuugata no go ji → gogo go hee
- Yoru no hachi-ji → gogo hachi hee
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yasumi – “party”
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Sometimes the polite prefix oh precedes yasumi in formal speech.
For example:
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O-yasumi wa itsu desu ka.
“When is the vacation?” or “When is your day off?”
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Watashino yasumi wa donichi desu.
“My days off are Saturday and Sunday.”
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Shinsatsu wa nan-ji kara nan-ji made desu ka.
“From what time to what time do you do the medical exams?”
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shinsatsu – “medical exam”
Wow – topic marker particle
nanji- “What time”
Kara – “from”
done – “until”
from his – copula (linking verb)
what – question mark particle
When asking about business hours for stores, banks, or restaurants, use eigía (“business, sales” or “operation”) instead of shinsatsu.
For example:
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Eigy wa nan-hee kara nan-hee did desu ka.
Literal meaning: “From what time to what time are your business hours?”
“When are you open?”
*For more information on the use of Kara and donesee article 17 of season 4 of the newbie series.
*For more information on times of day, see Newbie Series Season 4 Article 12.
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examples
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Shinsatsu wa nan-ji kara nan-ji made desu ka.
“When are you open?”
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Heijitsu wa gozen juu-ji kara gogo go-ji did desu.
“We are open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays.”
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Do-yoobi wa gozen juu-hee kara gogo ichi-hee did desu.
“We are open from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm on Saturdays.”
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Nichi-yoobi wa oyasumi desu.
“We are closed on Sundays.”