VocabularyJLPT N5 · core

分

ふん

hepburn fun

minute (counter)

Part of speech · counter / noun

Pattern visualization

分part

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Numbers4 strokes · 2.7s

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Examples

十分待ってください。
Please wait 10 minutes.
今、五分前です。
It's five minutes before [the hour].

Collocations

分 (fun / pun, minute — counter)一分 (ippun, one minute)何分 (nanpun, how many minutes)半分 (hanbun, half)気分 (kibun, mood — different reading bun)

Mnemonic

分 fun — minute counter with rich phonetic alternations: 一分 (ippun), 二分 (nifun), 三分 (sanpun), 四分 (yonpun), 五分 (gofun), 六分 (roppun), 七分 (nanafun), 八分 (happun/hachifun), 九分 (kyuufun), 十分 (juppun/jippun). The ふん/ぷん switch and 促音 (small っ) pattern is a top learner trap — memorize the per-number rules. The same kanji 分 reads differently in 半分 (hanbun, half), 気分 (kibun, mood), 分かる (wakaru, to understand, kun reading). One kanji spans time, portion, and cognition.

Quick check

Correct Japanese reading of "6 minutes"?