How to Say "In the Afternoon" in Japanese

午後に

gogo ni

The Japanese phrase for "in the afternoon" is 午後に (gogo ni).

午後に is used to indicate that an event or action takes place during the period of time between noon and evening.

What does it mean word for word?

The term 午後 (gogo) is composed of the characters 午 (noon) and 後 (after), literally meaning 'after noon'.

The particle に (ni) follows 午後 (gogo) to indicate a specific point or period in time when an action occurs.

gogo ni

The character 午 in 午後 refers to the 'Horse' in the Chinese zodiac, which represents the time between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Japanese uses a 24-hour clock extensively in written schedules, meaning 午後 3時 (3 PM) is often written as 15時 to avoid any ambiguity.
The word 午後 is a 'kango' word, meaning it was borrowed from Chinese, whereas the word for 'morning', 朝 (asa), is an indigenous Japanese word.

午後に証言したよ。
I testified in the afternoon.
This sentence is useful for describing when someone testified using the form 午後に.
Tatoeba #10914884 by small_snow, translation #10914885 by CK
午後には出発します。
I'm leaving in the afternoon.
This sentence is useful for describing a departure time using the form 午後に.
Tatoeba #11391184 by small_snow, translation #2264308 by sharptoothed
午後に雨が降るだろう。
It will rain in the afternoon.
This sentence is useful for describing a weather forecast using the form 午後に.
Tatoeba #174381 by KK_kaku_, translation #240087 by CK
Gogo ni kaigi ga arimasu (午後に会議があります)
I have a meeting in the afternoon
16 more sentences on Tatoeba

Hiyori and Kenta are discussing their schedules for tomorrow.

陽葵 Himari

明日の午後に時間がある？
Ashita no gogo ni jikan ga aru?
Do you have time tomorrow afternoon?
健太 Kenta

うん、空いているよ。どうしたの？
Un, aite iru yo. Doushita no?
Yeah, I'm free. What's up?
陽葵 Himari

午後に一緒に買い物に行きたいな。
Gogo ni issho ni kaimono ni ikitai na.
I want to go shopping together in the afternoon.
健太 Kenta

いいよ。行こう！
Ii yo. Ikou!
Sure. Let's go!

Sources

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