Time Adverbs
Time adverbs express when an action occurs, answering the question "when?" They include expressions for now, past, future, specific times, and general time periods. These adverbs help establish temporal context in Japanese sentences.
今行く
"I'll go now"
昨日映画を見た
"I watched a movie yesterday"
明日会いましょう
"Let's meet tomorrow"
Present Time
今 (Now)
今行く
"I'll go now"
今忙しい
"I'm busy now"
今から始める
"I'll start from now"
Current moment
Immediate present
今日 (Today)
今日は暑い
"It's hot today"
今日何をする？
"What will you do today?"
The current day
現在 (Currently - Formal)
現在、東京に住んでいます
"I currently live in Tokyo"
現在進行中です
"Currently in progress"
Formal contexts
Official statements
Past Time
昨日 (Yesterday)
昨日映画を見た
"I watched a movie yesterday"
昨日は雨だった
"It was rainy yesterday"
The day before today
昨夜/夕べ (Last night)
昨夜よく寝た
"I slept well last night"
夕べは遅く帰った
"I returned late last night"
Previous evening
おととい (The day before yesterday)
おととい買い物した
"I went shopping the day before yesterday"
Two days ago
先週 (Last week)
先週旅行した
"I traveled last week"
先週の金曜日
"Last Friday"
Previous week
先月 (Last month)
先月日本に行った
"I went to Japan last month"
Previous month
去年 (Last year)
去年卒業した
"I graduated last year"
Previous year
さっき (A moment ago/Earlier)
さっき食べた
"I ate a moment ago"
さっき見た
"I saw it earlier"
Recent past
Just now
先ほど (A while ago - Polite)
先ほどお電話いただきました
"You called a while ago"
More formal than さっき
Future Time
明日 (Tomorrow)
明日行く
"I'll go tomorrow"
明日は休みだ
"Tomorrow is a day off"
The next day
あさって (The day after tomorrow)
あさって会おう
"Let's meet the day after tomorrow"
Two days from now
来週 (Next week)
来週旅行する
"I'll travel next week"
Following week
来月 (Next month)
来月引っ越す
"I'll move next month"
Following month
来年 (Next year)
来年結婚する
"I'll get married next year"
Following year
もうすぐ/すぐ (Soon)
もうすぐ着く
"I'll arrive soon"
すぐ行く
"I'll go right away"
Near future
Immediate
あとで/後で (Later)
あとで電話する
"I'll call later"
後で会おう
"Let's meet later"
Some time later
いつか (Someday)
いつか日本に行きたい
"I want to go to Japan someday"
Indefinite future
Specific Times of Day
朝 (Morning)
朝走る
"I run in the morning"
今朝は寒かった
"It was cold this morning"
Morning time
昼 (Noon/Daytime)
昼ごはんを食べる
"Eat lunch"
昼間は暖かい
"It's warm during the day"
Midday
夜 (Night/Evening)
夜勉強する
"I study at night"
今夜出かける
"I'm going out tonight"
Evening/night time
午前/午後 (AM/PM)
午前中に終わる
"Finish in the morning (AM)"
午後3時に会う
"Meet at 3 PM"
Formal time divisions
General Time Periods
いつも (Always)
いつもここで食べる
"I always eat here"
Habitual time
Every time
たまに (Sometimes/Occasionally)
たまに映画を見る
"I occasionally watch movies"
Infrequent occurrence
最近 (Recently/Lately)
最近忙しい
"I'm busy lately"
最近よく会う
"I often meet recently"
Recent period
今頃 (About now/By now)
今頃着いた頃だ
"They should have arrived about now"
Estimated current time
Duration Markers
まだ (Still/Yet)
まだ食べている
"Still eating"
まだ来ない
"Haven't come yet"
Continuing state
With negative: not yet
もう (Already/Yet)
もう食べた
"Already ate"
もう帰った
"Already went home"
Completed action
Sooner than expected
ずっと (All along/For a long time)
ずっと待っている
"Have been waiting all along"
ずっと好きだった
"Have liked for a long time"
Continuous duration
Sequence Words
最初 (First/At first)
最初は難しかった
"It was difficult at first"
Beginning point
次に (Next)
次に説明します
"I'll explain next"
Following action
最後に (Finally/Lastly)
最後に質問があります
"Finally, I have a question"
Final point
その後 (After that)
その後、家に帰った
"After that, I went home"
Subsequent time
Relative Time
前 (Before/Ago)
3年前
"3 years ago"
食べる前
"Before eating"
Prior time point
後 (After/Later)
3年後
"3 years later"
食べた後
"After eating"
Following time point
間 (During/While)
休み間
"During the break"
Time span
Immediate Time
今すぐ (Right now/Immediately)
今すぐ行く
"I'll go right now"
Urgent immediacy
直ちに (Immediately - Formal)
直ちに対応します
"I'll respond immediately"
Formal urgency
Common Patterns
〜時 (When/At the time of)
子供の時
"When I was a child"
来た時
"When I came"
Time of occurrence
〜頃 (Around/About)
3時頃
"Around 3 o'clock"
その頃
"Around that time"
Approximate time
Position in Sentence
Usually at beginning or before verb
昨日映画を見た
"I watched a movie yesterday"
映画を昨日見た
"I watched a movie yesterday"
Flexible positioning
Multiple Time Expressions
昨日の夜
"Yesterday evening"
来週の月曜日
"Next Monday"
今年の夏
"This summer"
Combining time words
Common Mistakes
Confusing similar words
今日 (kyou) "today"
今 (ima) "now"
Different meanings
Pay attention to readings
Using に with time adverbs
Wrong: 昨日に ⚠️
Correct: 昨日 ✓
"Yesterday"
Time adverbs don't need に
(Exception: specific times like 3時に)
Practice Sentences
Basic
今行く
"I'll go now"
昨日映画を見た
"I watched a movie yesterday"
明日会いましょう
"Let's meet tomorrow"
今日は暑い
"It's hot today"
先週東京に行った
"I went to Tokyo last week"
来年結婚する
"I'll get married next year"
Intermediate
昨日の夜、友達と食事をした。
とても楽しかった。明日も
また会う予定だ。
"Last night I had dinner with friends.
It was very fun. I plan to
meet them again tomorrow."
最近とても忙しい。朝早く
起きて、夜遅くまで働いている。
来週からは少し楽になる
予定だ。
"I'm very busy lately. I wake up
early in the morning and work until late at night.
From next week, it's supposed to
get a bit easier."
3年前に日本語の勉強を
始めた。最初はとても難しかったが、
今ではだいぶ話せるように
なった。来年は日本に
留学したい。
"I started studying Japanese 3 years
ago. At first it was very difficult, but
now I've become able to
speak fairly well. Next year I
want to study abroad in Japan."