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Grammar detail: counting hours and years

counting hours and years
85 words
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In Japanese, a duration of years is expressed as (number) +
ねんかん
年間
, not
ねん
. For example, 'for three years' would be
さんねんかん
三年間
. There is nothing wrong with the term
さんねん
三年
- it could indeed mean 'three years' or 'third year'. However, it is not the correct term for a duration of three years.
In the same way,
じかん
時間
is the correct counter for 'hours', so
さんじかん
三時間
means 'for three hours'.
さんじ
三時
, on the other hand, means 'the third hour' - in other words, 3 o'clock.
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Kanji used in this grammar

ネン   とし year   
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カン   ケン   あいだ interval, between   ま space, room   
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サン   み    みっ three   
ジ   とき time, occasion   
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