Meaning

Primary

Minute

Alternative

Minutes

Word Type

noun, suffix

Explanation

What's part of an hour? A minute, or minutes! This word is the suffix version of , so it goes after numbers to say how many minutes, and is used for telling the time too.

Reading

ふん
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This uses a different on'yomi than what you learned with the kanji, so here's a mnemonic to help you remember this reading:

How many minutes of fun (ふん) will you have today? Lots and lots of minutes, I hope!

Depending on the number before , its pronunciation can change to ぷん, because of rendaku. We're looking for the original reading ふん here though!

Context

Pattern of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 四分

    four minutes

    二分

    two minutes

    五分

    five minutes

Context Sentences

大体、二分くらいかかります。

It generally takes about two minutes.

十五分休みましょうか。

Shall we rest for fifteen minutes?

私のアパートからコンビニまでは歩いて大体五分くらいです。

It's about five minutes on foot from my apartment to a convenience store.

Kanji Composition