Japanese for English speakers Sports · Lesson 2

Wake up and go to bed

Describe your daily routine in Japanese — 起きます (okimasu, wake up), 寝ます (nemasu, go to bed) — at specific times with に. Practice time vocabulary.

Conversation

  1. Shelladonna Shelladonna

    ロキーさんは朝、何時に起きますか？

    Rokī san wa asa, nanji ni okimasuka?

    Rocky, what time do you wake up in the morning?

    Tip: <asa> = morning <nan ji ni> = at what time <okimasu> = to wake up. Japanese verbs don't change according to the subject. They just stay the same. So it sounds like "I wake up", "she wake up".

  2. Rocky Rocky

    ７時に起きます

    shichi ji ni okimasu

    I wake up at 7:00

    Tip: <shichi ji> = 7:00 <ni> = particle that indicates that you STAY/ ARE in a place. Also used for punctual time (to say "at five / seven...)

  3. Shelladonna Shelladonna

    夜は何時に寝ますか？

    yoru wa nanji ni nemasu ka?

    What time do you go to bed?

    Tip: <yoru> = evening / night <nemasu> = go to bed

  4. Rocky Rocky

    １１時に寝ます

    jūichi ji ni nemasu

    I go to bed at 11:00

    Tip: <jūichi> = eleven

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How do you say 'I wake up at 7'?

7時に起きます (shichi-ji ni okimasu). The particle に marks specific times.

Do Japanese verbs change by subject?

No — 起きます is the same for 'I', 'he', 'she', 'we', etc. The subject is inferred from context.

How do you say 'I go to bed at 11'?

11時に寝ます (jūichi-ji ni nemasu).

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Japanese lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.

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