1.
time signal; hourly chime; time announcement
A signal — typically a series of beeps, a chime, or a recorded voice — that announces the exact time, especially on the hour. Used by radio and TV broadcasts, telephone services, and clock towers.
時計が時報を鳴らした。
The clock chimed the time signal.
ラジオの時報に合わせて時計を調整した。
I set my watch by the radio time signal.
毎日正午になると、町の放送から時報が流れる。
Every day at noon, a time signal plays from the town's loudspeakers.
昔は電話で「117」にかけると、時報を聞くことができた。
In the past, you could hear the time signal by calling 117 on the phone.
時報 literally combines 時 (time) and 報 (report, signal). It refers to any signal that announces the exact time — whether a chime, beep, or recorded announcement.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 時報が鳴る: a time signal sounds
- 時報を流す: to broadcast a time signal
- 時報に合わせる: to set (a clock) by the time signal
- ラジオの時報: the radio time signal
- 正午の時報: the noon time signal
CULTURAL NOTE:
- In Japan, the noon 時報 broadcast through municipal loudspeakers (防災無線) is a daily ritual in many cities and towns — a melody such as 夕焼け小焼け or a chime indicates noon and 5 PM.
- The classic NHK radio 時報 consists of three short "pi" beeps followed by a longer "pō" tone, marking the exact start of the next hour.
- The phone-based time service at 117, run by NTT, was widely used to set clocks before networked devices became common.
RELATED TERMS:
- 時: time, hour
- ドアチャイム: door chime
- 鐘: bell
- アラーム: alarm