How to Say ‘By what time?’ in Japanese
何時までですか。
nan ji made desu ka
[nan jee made dess ka]
💬 Usage Tip: まで means "until" or "by," marking the end point. It works with dates too: いつまでですか "By when is it?"
Phrase Breakdown
何
nan
[nan]
what
何 means what; in 何時 it helps ask 'what time'.
何時に始まりますか。
What time does it start?
時
ji
[jee]
time / hour
時 means time or o'clock; with 何 it becomes 'what time'.
何時に始まりますか。
What time does it start?
まで
made
[made]
until; up to
Shows the end point in a range, such as up to row 5.
一列目から五列目まで空いています。
Rows 1 through 5 are available.
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.
か
ka
[ka]
question particle
Used to create a yes/no question in informal speech.
行くか？
Shall we go?
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