How to Say ‘Five minutes on foot’ in Japanese
歩いて五分
arui te go pun
[ah-wee teh goh foon]
💬 Usage Tip: Literally “walk and 5 minutes.” It’s a super common direction unit. You can swap the number: [歩いて十分] (10 minutes on foot).
🇯🇵 In Japan: Time estimates can be “station walking speed,” which is often brisk—especially during rush hour.
Phrase Breakdown
歩い
arui
[ah-wee]
walk (te-form stem)
From 歩く → 歩いて. Used before time expressions to mean “(by) walking …” as in 歩いて五分.
ここから歩い て五分です。
It’s a 5-minute walk from here.
て
te
[teh]
te-form ending
Finishes the て-form (歩いて). The て-form connects actions and is used in common direction phrases like 歩いて五分.
歩い て五分ぐらいです。
It’s about a 5-minute walk.
五
go
[goh]
five
The number 5. With 分 it becomes 五分 (five minutes). Often used for travel time in directions.
歩いて五 分です。
It’s five minutes on foot.
分
pun
[foon]
minutes
Counter for minutes (also used for “portion/part” in other contexts). In directions, 分 is typically read as ふん/ぷん depending on the number; 五分 = ごふん.
駅まで五分 かかります。
It takes five minutes to the station.
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