Nihongo con Teppei (Beginner) - Ep4: 何時ですか？
Felix's Learner Note:
Teppei nails exactly this gap in Episode 4. He doesn't just teach you the clock — he takes you through the full daily cycle: 朝の7時、朝の8時、昼の12時、昼の3時、夕方の5時、夕方の6時、夜の7時、夜中の12時 — all spoken at natural pace, "朝ですか、朝。昼ですか、昼。それとも夜ですか" — This material is gold for shadowing: you're not memorizing numbers, you're absorbing the conversational reflex.
Shadow this until your mouth forms 昼、夕方、夜中 without translating. That's the level where time questions stop being a quiz and start being a conversation.
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📚 Grammar Breakdown
1. ～時（～じ）—— 時刻表現
Meaning: Hour / o'clock. Number + 時 forms a clock time. Extended with の for descriptive time-of-day phrases: 朝の7時、昼の3時、夜の8時、夜中の12時.
In Text: 今3時ですね / 朝の7時ですか / 昼の12時1時 / 夕方の5時夕方の6時 / 夜の7時8時 / 夜中の12時 (It's 3 o'clock / Is it 7 AM? / 12 and 1 PM / 5 and 6 in the evening / 7 and 8 at night / 12 midnight).
Note: N5 core. The trap Teppei exposes: Japanese speakers don't just say the number — they pick a time-of-day qualifier (朝/昼/夕方/夜/夜中) to disambiguate. Textbooks teach 7時, but a native says 朝の7時 vs 夜の7時 to avoid confusion. Self-learners who skip the qualifier sound like train station announcements. Shadow Teppei's 朝の～/昼の～ rhythm until it's automatic.
Meaning: Hour / o'clock. Number + 時 forms a clock time. Extended with の for descriptive time-of-day phrases: 朝の7時、昼の3時、夜の8時、夜中の12時.
In Text: 今3時ですね / 朝の7時ですか / 昼の12時1時 / 夕方の5時夕方の6時 / 夜の7時8時 / 夜中の12時 (It's 3 o'clock / Is it 7 AM? / 12 and 1 PM / 5 and 6 in the evening / 7 and 8 at night / 12 midnight).
Note: N5 core. The trap Teppei exposes: Japanese speakers don't just say the number — they pick a time-of-day qualifier (朝/昼/夕方/夜/夜中) to disambiguate. Textbooks teach 7時, but a native says 朝の7時 vs 夜の7時 to avoid confusion. Self-learners who skip the qualifier sound like train station announcements. Shadow Teppei's 朝の～/昼の～ rhythm until it's automatic.
2. ～について
Meaning: About / regarding ~. Marks the topic that the verb (talk, think, ask, write) concerns. Noun + について + verb of contemplation/communication.
In Text: 今日何時ですかにっついて / について話します / 今何時ですかについて聞いてみました (Today, about "what time is it" / I'll talk about ~ / I tried asking about "what time is it").
Note: N4. について is the go-to marker when introducing what an episode/speech/essay is about. Learners often confuse it with に関して (more formal, N3) — in speech, について is overwhelmingly preferred. The casual contraction っついて that Teppei uses in the intro is spoken-only — never write it that way, but shadow it so you recognize it in the wild.
Meaning: About / regarding ~. Marks the topic that the verb (talk, think, ask, write) concerns. Noun + について + verb of contemplation/communication.
In Text: 今日何時ですかにっついて / について話します / 今何時ですかについて聞いてみました (Today, about "what time is it" / I'll talk about ~ / I tried asking about "what time is it").
Note: N4. について is the go-to marker when introducing what an episode/speech/essay is about. Learners often confuse it with に関して (more formal, N3) — in speech, について is overwhelmingly preferred. The casual contraction っついて that Teppei uses in the intro is spoken-only — never write it that way, but shadow it so you recognize it in the wild.
3. ～ていきましょう / ～てみました（～ていく・～てみる）
Meaning: ～ていく = continue doing / proceed doing (directional away from speaker); ～てみる = try doing (exploratory). Both in volitional / past tense here.
In Text: 勉強していきましょう (Let's keep studying and move forward) / 聞いてみました (I tried asking).
Note: N4. ～ていく carries the nuance of momentum moving forward into the future — 勉強していきましょう = "let's study and keep going," not just "let's study." ～てみる frames an action as an experiment — 聞いてみました = "I gave asking a try / I tried to see what would happen if I asked." Learners drop the いく/みる and lose the nuance: 勉強しましょう is a plain suggestion; 勉強していきましょう is a rallying cry.
Meaning: ～ていく = continue doing / proceed doing (directional away from speaker); ～てみる = try doing (exploratory). Both in volitional / past tense here.
In Text: 勉強していきましょう (Let's keep studying and move forward) / 聞いてみました (I tried asking).
Note: N4. ～ていく carries the nuance of momentum moving forward into the future — 勉強していきましょう = "let's study and keep going," not just "let's study." ～てみる frames an action as an experiment — 聞いてみました = "I gave asking a try / I tried to see what would happen if I asked." Learners drop the いく/みる and lose the nuance: 勉強しましょう is a plain suggestion; 勉強していきましょう is a rallying cry.
4. ～というわけで
Meaning: "So / for that reason / with that being the case" — wraps up the preceding explanation and transitions to the conclusion. Spoken-equivalent of したがって or それゆえ.
In Text: というわけで今日は今何時ねっ今何時ですかについて聞いてみました (So that's it for today — I tried asking "what time is it now?").
Note: N3. This is the connective tissue of conversational wrap-ups. というわけで is Teppei's go-to closer — it signals "I've finished my main point, now I'm signing off." Self-learners tend to use だから (too abrupt) or ので (too robotic) in this slot. というわけで strikes the exact register for podcast/YouTube endings — conversational, conclusive, polite without stiffness.
Meaning: "So / for that reason / with that being the case" — wraps up the preceding explanation and transitions to the conclusion. Spoken-equivalent of したがって or それゆえ.
In Text: というわけで今日は今何時ねっ今何時ですかについて聞いてみました (So that's it for today — I tried asking "what time is it now?").
Note: N3. This is the connective tissue of conversational wrap-ups. というわけで is Teppei's go-to closer — it signals "I've finished my main point, now I'm signing off." Self-learners tend to use だから (too abrupt) or ので (too robotic) in this slot. というわけで strikes the exact register for podcast/YouTube endings — conversational, conclusive, polite without stiffness.
5. ～でしょうか（でしょう + か）
Meaning: "I wonder ~?" / polite softened question. Combines the conjectural でしょう (probably) with the question particle か, producing a tone that's gentler than a straight ですか.
In Text: 皆さんは今何時ですかね / 何時ですかね (I wonder what time it is for you all / What time is it, I wonder?).
Note: N4. ですか = direct question; でしょうか = musing, leaving space for the listener. Teppei's whole episode runs on でしょうか / ですかね — he's not interrogating, he's wondering aloud with the audience. Self-learners who only use ですか sound like interviewers; those who master でしょうか sound like conversationalists. The intonation lift on でしょうか is softer — shadow it so you can tell the difference by ear.
Meaning: "I wonder ~?" / polite softened question. Combines the conjectural でしょう (probably) with the question particle か, producing a tone that's gentler than a straight ですか.
In Text: 皆さんは今何時ですかね / 何時ですかね (I wonder what time it is for you all / What time is it, I wonder?).
Note: N4. ですか = direct question; でしょうか = musing, leaving space for the listener. Teppei's whole episode runs on でしょうか / ですかね — he's not interrogating, he's wondering aloud with the audience. Self-learners who only use ですか sound like interviewers; those who master でしょうか sound like conversationalists. The intonation lift on でしょうか is softer — shadow it so you can tell the difference by ear.