分(ふん)

Pronunciation

The counter is read ふん or ぷん depending on the number before it:

• 一(いっ)分(ぷん), 三(さん)分(ぷん), 四(よん)分(ぷん), 六(ろっ)分(ぷん), 八(はっ)分(ぷん), 十(じゅっ)分(ぷん) (also じっぷん): ぷん
• 二(に)分(ふん), 五(ご)分(ふん), 七(なな)分(ふん), 九(きゅう)分(ふん): ふん
• The question form is 何(なん)分(ぷん) (how many minutes?).

The pattern repeats with larger numbers: 十五(じゅうご)分(ふん), 二十(にじゅっ)分(ぷん), 四十五(よんじゅうご)分(ふん).

Watch out

十分(じゅっぷん) (ten minutes) and 十分(じゅうぶん) (enough) share the same kanji; the reading and context tell them apart. In 半分(はんぶん) (half) and 自分(じぶん) (oneself), 分(ぶん) is a different morpheme.