1.
one minute
A single minute of clock time or duration. Often used loosely for "a moment", as in 一分待って (hang on a second).
あと一分です。
One minute to go.
一分だけ待ってください。
Please wait just one minute.
電子レンジで一分温めてから、よく混ぜてください。
Heat it in the microwave for one minute, then mix it well.
The counter 分 changes shape after certain numbers: いっぷん, にふん, さんぷん, よんぷん, ごふん, ろっぷん, ななふん, はっぷん, きゅうふん, じゅっぷん. Learners should memorise this set as a block rather than one number at a time.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 一分間: for one minute (duration)
- 一分以内: within one minute
- 一分一秒を争う: to be a race against the clock
USAGE:
The same characters read いちぶ mean "one part" or "one tenth", as in 一分の隙もない (without the slightest opening). Context and reading, not the writing, tell the two apart.