Japanese Grammar – Time Span に (ni)

Japanese Grammar – Express Frequency/Duration with Time Span に – Review Notes

Today, we will learn another use of the particle に (ni). As you may already know, the particle に (ni) has many uses. Today, we will learn how to express frequency/duration with Time Span に (ni).

………………………………………………………………………………..

★　Today we will learn how to use time span に (ni) to express frequency or duration.

★　There are many other uses of the particle に (ni). You can learn more about those here!

★　First, let’s look at the example:

私は１日に２時間ぐらい勉強します。

Watashi wa ichinichi ni nijikan gurai benkyou shimasu.

I study for about 2 hours a day.

★　Now, let’s learn the correct grammatical order for the sentence:

★　First comes the subject, 私 (watashi – “I”). (sometimes this is omitted in Japanese sentences).

★　Then comes the time frame, in this case １日 (ichinichi – “a day”)

★　Then, the particle に (ni)

★　Next, the frequency or duration, in this case ２時間ぐらい (nijikan gurai – “about 2 hours”)

★　The verb or action, in this case 勉強します (benkyou shimasu – “study”) always comes last.

★　The time frame can be specified by any expression that specifies a duration of time such as:

分 (fun – “minutes”), 時間 (jikan – “hours”), 日 (nichi – “days”),週間 (shuukan – “weeks”),ヶ月 (kagetsu – “months”),年 (nen – “years”)

★　You may need to review previous lessons to remember how to count seconds, minutes, and hours, weeks, months and years!

１日に３０分ゲームをします。

Ichinichi ni sanjuppun gēmu o shimasu.

I play games for 30 minutes a day.

１週間に３回ジムに行きます。

Isshuukan ni sankai jimu ni ikimasu.

I go to the gym 3 times a week.

１年に１回旅行に行きます。

Ichinen ni ikkai ryokou ni ikimasu.

I go on a trip once a year.

………………………………………………………………………………..

Additional Information:

……………………………………………………………………………….

★　There are some other ways to say the same thing. For example, instead of saying １ヶ月に１回 (ikkagetsu ni ikkai) you can say 月に１回 (tsuki ni ikkai).

★　Also, instead of saying １週間に１回 (ishuukan ni ikkai) you can say 週に１回 (shuu ni ikkai).

★　Similarly, you may hear 年に１回 (nen ni ikkai) or １年間に１回 (ichinenkan ni ikkai) instead of １年に１回 (ichinen ni ikkai).

★　Try not to be overwhelmed by all the different ways to say things, but do realize that these different ways exist so that you are not confused when you hear something that is different from what you use.

………………………………………………………………………………..

More Example Sentences:

……………………………………………………………………………….

月に２回小学生に英語を教えています。

Tsuki ni nikai shougakusei ni eigo o oshieteimasu.

I teach English to elementary schoolers twice a month.

……………………………………………………………………………….

年に２回故郷に帰ります。

Nen ni nikai furusato ni kaerimasu.

I visit my hometown twice a year.

……………………………………………………………………………….

週に一回ヨガに行きます。

Shuu ni ikkai yoga ni ikimasu.

I go to yoga once a week.

……………………………………………………………………………….

Conclusion:

That’s it for today’s Japanese grammar lesson! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below!

……………………………………………………………………………….

Do you want a Japanese tutor?

Take Japanese Skype Lessons with Professional Japanese Teachers on kakehashijapan.com!

………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………..