How to Say "Seconds" in Japanese

秒

[bʲo̞ː]

The English phrase "seconds" is translated into Japanese as 秒.

Meaning: second serving (noun)

How do you pronounce it?

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In modern Japanese slang, saying something happened in 秒 often means it happened almost instantaneously, rather than in exactly one second. It is used similarly to the English expression 'in a heartbeat'.
While 秒 means 'seconds' in a time context, it cannot be used to ask for a second helping of food. To ask for 'seconds' at a meal, Japanese speakers use the phrase おかわり, which translates to 'replacement'.
In Japanese, the word for 'second' (ordinal number) is 第二 (dai-ni), which is entirely different from the word for 'second' (time) written as 秒.

1分は60秒です。
A minute has sixty seconds.
This sentence is useful for illustrating the relationship between minutes and the word 秒.
Tatoeba #190068 by tommy_san, translation #27224 by sacredceltic
30秒、レンジでチンして。
Zap it in the microwave for thirty seconds.
This sentence is useful for a practical instruction involving the word 秒 and a microwave.
Tatoeba #11530641 by bunbuku, translation #1999927 by FlamingTofu
ご飯はたった40秒でできた。
The meal was ready in just forty seconds.
This sentence is useful for describing how quickly a meal was prepared using the word 秒.
Tatoeba #13127479 by small_snow, translation #11678878 by Amastan
このプロジェクトには5秒の待機時間が必要です
This project requires a 5-second waiting time.
あのゲームの記録はたった2秒だった!
That game record was only 2 seconds!
このバグを修正するのに10秒かかりました
It took 10 seconds to fix this bug.
あの映画のキスシーンは3秒しかなかったよ!
That movie kiss scene was only 3 seconds!
17 more sentences on Tatoeba

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