That’s a good question.
15時 is mainly used in formal situations, such as in the news or announcements at train stations.
You can say 午後3時, but in that case, it’s best to also say 午前10時 instead of just 10時 — for example, 午前10時から午後3時 (from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) — to avoid any confusion.
In daily conversation, we’d usually say something like 朝の10時から昼の3時 (from 10:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon).
Thank you for the explanation….especially about using 朝 and 昼 because that will be easier for me to remember. For some reason, I struggle with remembering 午前 and 午後. I know the words, but I constantly get which one is AM and which one is PM wrong when trying to use them.
Yes….when I read it or see it in Kanji, its easy to figure out which one is AM and PM. However, where I struggle for some reason is when I simply hear the word(s). My brain refuses to memorize which is which by sound for some reason though i have reviewed them over and over… 🙁 I have noticed (now that I have been doing this for awhile) that some new words I learn stick in my brain right away and I have no trouble memorizing them….and other words I can hear over and over again and I still keep forgetting them…
I think I get what you’re saying.
When I struggle to tell the difference between two words, I try focusing on just one of them first and learning it thoroughly.
For example, if there are words A and B, I concentrate on memorizing A and getting used to using it. I treat B simply as “the word that’s not A.”
By doing this, my hesitation around B eventually goes away, and I end up picking it up pretty naturally.
Even Japanese children might have trouble if they tried to learn both terms at the same time.
My parents were always busy, so from a very young age, around two or three years old, I often heard them say things like, 午前中に終わらせよう (Let’s finish this before noon.)
I think I didn’t get confused because I learned the word 午前中 first.
※午前中(ごぜんちゅう) – before noon / by the end of the morning / during the morning hours
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This sentence got my attention: “しかも、１０時から１５時だけ。” Is it more common in Japan to use １５時 or use 午後3時?
That’s a good question.
15時 is mainly used in formal situations, such as in the news or announcements at train stations.
You can say 午後3時, but in that case, it’s best to also say 午前10時 instead of just 10時 — for example, 午前10時から午後3時 (from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) — to avoid any confusion.
In daily conversation, we’d usually say something like 朝の10時から昼の3時 (from 10:00 in the morning to 3:00 in the afternoon).
Thank you for the explanation….especially about using 朝 and 昼 because that will be easier for me to remember. For some reason, I struggle with remembering 午前 and 午後. I know the words, but I constantly get which one is AM and which one is PM wrong when trying to use them.
No problem!
午 refers to “noon”.
前, as you may already know, means “before”.
後 means “after”.
I think it works in the same way as “am” and “pm”.
Yes….when I read it or see it in Kanji, its easy to figure out which one is AM and PM. However, where I struggle for some reason is when I simply hear the word(s). My brain refuses to memorize which is which by sound for some reason though i have reviewed them over and over… 🙁 I have noticed (now that I have been doing this for awhile) that some new words I learn stick in my brain right away and I have no trouble memorizing them….and other words I can hear over and over again and I still keep forgetting them…
I think I get what you’re saying.
When I struggle to tell the difference between two words, I try focusing on just one of them first and learning it thoroughly.
For example, if there are words A and B, I concentrate on memorizing A and getting used to using it. I treat B simply as “the word that’s not A.”
By doing this, my hesitation around B eventually goes away, and I end up picking it up pretty naturally.
This is a great idea and I think I will try that. Thank you for sharing your experience.
No problem! 🙂
Even Japanese children might have trouble if they tried to learn both terms at the same time.
My parents were always busy, so from a very young age, around two or three years old, I often heard them say things like, 午前中に終わらせよう (Let’s finish this before noon.)
I think I didn’t get confused because I learned the word 午前中 first.
※午前中(ごぜんちゅう) – before noon / by the end of the morning / during the morning hours