お昼寝の時間
ohirune no jikan
To say nap time in Japanese, use お昼寝の時間 (ohirune no jikan).
It is used for a daytime nap, especially the nap time of small children at home or in nursery school.
What does it mean word for word?
お is a polite prefix, 昼寝 means a nap, の links the words and 時間 means time.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced ohirune no jikan.
Did you know?
- In Japanese offices, a short nap is called いねむり ('inemuri'). Unlike 'nap time', which implies a scheduled break, いねむり refers to the social acceptance of falling asleep during a meeting or on a train as a sign of exhaustion from hard work.
- The polite prefix お in お昼寝 is an example of 美化語 ('beautification language'). Using this prefix doesn't just show respect to others, but makes the act of napping sound more refined and gentle.
- While お昼寝 is for children, adults may use the word 仮眠 ('kamin') for a strategic nap. This term literally means 'temporary sleep' and is often used in professional or medical contexts to describe a power nap.
Examples in context
- お昼寝の時間よ。It's nap time.Adding よ at the end gives a gentle, friendly tone, like telling a child it is nap time.Tatoeba #9533490 by small_snow, translation #8784609 by Amastan
- そろそろお昼寝の時間だよ。sorosoro ohirune no jikan da yo.It is almost nap time.
- お昼寝の時間はいつですか?ohirune no jikan wa itsu desu ka?When is nap time?
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A mother talking to her young son in a living room.
- 結衣 Yui陽太、もうお昼寝の時間だよ。Youta, mou ohirune no jikan da yo.Youta, it is nap time already.
- 陽太 Yotaまだ遊びたいよ。Mada asobitai yo.I still want to play.
- 結衣 Yuiダメだよ、お昼寝の時間だよ。Dame da yo, ohirune no jikan da yo.No, it is nap time.
- 陽太 Yotaわかった、寝るね。Wakatta, neru ne.Okay, I will sleep.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.