Asking the Distance

In this lesson you will learn how to ask whether a place is nearby or far away, talk about distance and how long it takes to get somewhere, and tell time in Japanese. These skills combine with the direction vocabulary from previous lessons to give you full navigation ability.

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Is Takashimaya Nearby?

Ms. Davis is in the Ginza, looking for the Takashimaya department store.

Romaji	English
Deebisu: Sumimasen. Takashimaya wa kono chikaku desu ka?	Excuse me. Is Takashimaya department store near here?
Nihonjin: Takashimaya desu ka? Kono michi o massugu itte, tsugi no koosaten o migi ni magaru to, hidari ni arimasu.	Takashimaya? Go straight and then make a right at the next intersection. It’s on your left.
Deebisu: Soo desu ka. Koko kara tooi desu ka?	Oh. Is it far from here?
Nihonjin: Iie, tooku arimasen yo. Hachijuu meetoru gurai desu.	No, it isn’t far. It’s about 80 meters.
Deebisu: Wakarimashita. Doomo.	I see. Thanks.

Situation 2 — How Far Is the Station?

Mr. Collins has walked far from Shibuya Station and needs to get back.

Romaji	English
Korinzu: Sumimasen. Shibuya-eki wa doko desu ka?	Excuse me. Where is Shibuya Station?
Nihonjin: Eki wa chotto tooi desu yo. Futatsu-me no kado o migi e massugu iku to, tsukiatari ni depaato ga miemasu. Eki wa sono mae desu.	The station is a bit far. If you turn right at the second corner and go straight, you’ll see a department store at the end of the street. The station is in front of it.
Korinzu: Soo desu nee…	Let me see…
Nihonjin: Koko kara eki made aruite juugo-fun gurai desu.	It’s about a 15-minute walk from here to the station.
Korinzu: Aruite juugo-fun?	A 15-minute walk?
Nihonjin: Ee.	Yes.
Korinzu: Soo desu ka. Doomo.	I see. Thanks.

Situation 3 — Is the Subway Station Far?

Mrs. Howard is looking for Hibiya subway station after a concert.

Romaji	English
Hawaado: Sumimasen. Chikatetsu no eki wa koko kara tooi desu ka?	Excuse me. Is the subway station far from here?
Nihonjin: Iie, sugu desu yo. Asoko ni depaato ga arimasu ne? Ano depaato no migi desu. Koko o massugu ikeba, sugu wakarimasu yo.	No, it’s right there. You see a department store over there, don’t you? It’s to the right of that department store. If you go straight from here, you’ll find it right away.
Hawaado: Soo desu ka. Doomo arigatoo.	I see. Thank you.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Romaji	English	Kana
tooi	is far	とおい
tooku arimasen	is not far	とおくありません
meetoru	meter(s)	メートル
wakarimashita	I understand (lit. I understood)	わかりました
e	to, towards	へ
iku	go (dictionary form of ikimasu)	いく
miemasu	is visible, can be seen	みえます
made	until, as far as	まで
aruite	on foot, walking (TE form of arukimasu)	あるいて
…fun	minute(s)	…ふん
gurai	approximately, about	ぐらい
ikeba	if (you) go	いけば
chikai	is near	ちかい
de	by means of	で
kuruma	car, automobile	くるま
densha	electric train	でんしゃ
hikooki	airplane	ひこうき

Counting Minutes and Meters

Minutes (-fun / -pun)

Number	Romaji	Number	Romaji
1 minute	ip-pun	6 minutes	rop-pun
2 minutes	ni-fun	7 minutes	nana-fun
3 minutes	san-pun	8 minutes	hap-pun
4 minutes	yon-pun	9 minutes	kyuu-fun
5 minutes	go-fun	10 minutes	jup-pun

Meters (meetoru)

Number	Romaji
1 meter	ichi meetoru
5 meters	go meetoru
10 meters	juu meetoru
50 meters	gojuu meetoru
80 meters	hachijuu meetoru
100 meters	hyaku meetoru

Native Japanese vs. Chinese-Origin Numerals

Japanese has two sets of numerals. Native Japanese numerals (used for counting 1–10) and Chinese-origin numerals:

#	Japanese (native)	Chinese-origin
1	hito(tsu)	ichi
2	futa(tsu)	ni
3	mit(tsu)	san
4	yot(tsu)	shi / yon
5	itsu(tsu)	go
6	mut(tsu)	roku
7	nana(tsu)	shichi / nana
8	yat(tsu)	hachi
9	kokono(tsu)	ku / kyuu
10	too	juu

Native Japanese numerals are used with ordinal suffixes (futatsu-me “the second”) and for counting certain objects. Numbers above ten always use Chinese-origin numerals.

Grammar & Usage Notes

1. Tooi — “Far”

Use tooi to ask whether a destination is far or near:

• Tooi desu ka? — Is it far?
• Tooku arimasen. — It’s not far.

2. Gurai — “About”

Gurai follows the quantity it modifies (the opposite of English “about”):

• Jup-pun gurai desu. — It’s about 10 minutes.
• Gojuu meetoru gurai desu. — It’s about 50 meters.

3. …made — “As far as…”

Use made to indicate a destination when talking about distance:

• Eki made jup-pun gurai desu. — It’s about 10 minutes to the station.
• Koko kara soko made — from here to there
• Tokyo kara Osaka made — from Tokyo to Osaka

4. Useful Direction Expressions

Japanese	English
…iku to	if you go…
…ikeba	if you go…
…ga miemasu	you will see…
aruite	on foot

Example: Gojuu meetoru gurai iku to, migi ni depaato ga miemasu. — If you go about 50 meters, you’ll see a department store on the right.

Telling Time

Romaji	English
ichi-ji	one o’clock
ni-ji	two o’clock
san-ji	three o’clock
yo-ji	four o’clock
go-ji	five o’clock
roku-ji	six o’clock
shichi-ji	seven o’clock
hachi-ji	eight o’clock
ku-ji	nine o’clock
juu-ji	ten o’clock
juuichi-ji	eleven o’clock
juuni-ji	twelve o’clock
nan-ji	what time?
han	half past
mae	before
sugi	after, past

Example: Ima nan-ji desu ka? — What time is it now?

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Distance Production Drill

Using the pattern …kara …made …meetoru gurai desu, give the distance between points:

From	To	Distance
koko (here)	eki (station)	50 meetoru
eki	resutoran	80 meetoru
resutoran	basu-tee (bus stop)	70 meetoru

B. Substitution Drill — Means of Transport

Base sentence: Koko kara soko made aruite sanjup-pun gurai desu.

Substitute the transport method:

1. basu de (by bus)
2. takushii de (by taxi)
3. chikatetsu de (by subway)
4. kuruma de (by car)
5. densha de (by train)

C. Question and Answer Exercise

Student A asks if it’s far; Student B answers “no” and gives the distance:

• A: Koko kara eki made tooi desu ka?
• B: Iie, tooku arimasen. Gojuu meetoru gurai desu.

Cultural Notes

• The metric system is used in Japan. A quick reference: 10 meters ≈ 33 feet, 100 meters ≈ 328 feet, 1 kilometer ≈ 0.62 miles.
• Japanese people may say they “can’t speak English” even when you address them in Japanese. This is because many assume that all foreigners speak English. Don’t be discouraged — use Sumimasen to get their attention and wait for a reply in Japanese before asking your question.
• Some Japanese may reply to you only in English, even when you speak Japanese. They may be trying to be courteous or practicing their English. Don’t take it personally.

Reading Practice (漢字)

Kanji	Romaji	English
一	ichi	one
二	ni	two
三	san	three
四	shi / yon	four
五	go	five
六	roku	six
七	shichi / nana	seven
八	hachi	eight
九	ku / kyuu	nine
十	juu	ten