How to Say ‘It's about twenty minutes’ in Japanese
二十分ぐらいですね
nijuu pun gurai desu ne
[nee-jyuu poon goo-RAI dess neh]
💬 Usage Tip: 二十分 is said (nijuppun), with a held beat before (pun), not (nijū-fun). The ね at the end softens it, like "you know" or "I'd say."
Phrase Breakdown
二十分
nijuu pun
twenty minutes
Pronounced 'nijuppun'. Note the small pause (double p) before 'pun'.
二十分待ちました。
I waited twenty minutes.
Words in this phrase
二十
nijuu
[nee-jyuu]
twenty
The number twenty, often used for servings or quantities in prep work.
今日は二十人分で二十を確認します。
For today's twenty servings, we confirm the number twenty.
分
pun
[poon]
minute(s)
Counter for minutes when talking about duration or clock minutes.
40分かかります。
It takes 40 minutes.
ぐらいですね
gurai desu ne
about, I'd say
ぐらい means 'about' or 'approximately'. ですね adds a soft, friendly tone.
一時間ぐらいですね。
It's about an hour, I'd say.
Words in this phrase
ぐらい
gurai
[goo-RAI]
about; approximately
Placed after a number or amount to show it is an estimate; a variant of くらい.
駅まで十分ぐらいです。
It's about ten minutes to the station.
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
ね
ne
[neh]
isn't it; right
Sentence-ending particle adding agreement, softness, or confirmation.
いいですねと共感を示します。
You show agreement by saying, That sounds good, right.
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