Japanese word

分間

Pronunciation

Romajifunkan

Meaning

  • counterminutes

Example

三分間待ってください。san fun kan ma tte ku da sa i

Please wait for three minutes.

Illustration for 分間 (minutes)

More examples

休憩を五分間取ります。kyū kei o go fun kan to ri ma su

I will take a break for five minutes.

Core concept

Shows that an activity or state lasts for a stated number of minutes.

Common phrases

  • 三分間待つsan fun kan ma tsu

    wait for three minutes

Similar words

分bun: A counter for expressing a number of minutes as a unit of time in many kinds of time expressions.

Definition in Japanese

ある動作や状態が続く時間を分で数えるときに用いる語。a ru dō sa ya jō tai ga tsuzu ku ji kan o bun de kazo e ru to ki ni mochi i ru go

Word origin

分間 (funkan) is made from 分 (fun, "minute") and 間 (kan, "interval"), combining the unit of minutes with the idea of a time span.

Usage tips

  • Japanese often uses 分間 (funkan) with activities such as 三分間読む (sanpunkan yomu), where the expression presents the minutes as one continuous period.

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