いつ

Alternative writings: 何時
JLPT:N5
Frequency:

1A pronoun used to ask about time: 'when' or 'at what time'.

PronounUsually Kana

Examples

パーティーはいつ始まりますか?

When does the party start?

いつ日本に来たの?

When did you come to Japan?

宿題はいつまでに出せばいいですか?

By when should I submit the homework?

いつ終わるか分からない仕事が残っている。

There's work left that I don't know when it will finish.

2A dated/literary sense meaning 'the usual time' or 'ordinary days'. Rarely used on its own in modern Japanese; it survives mainly as a fossilized element inside set expressions like いつになく ('unlike usual') and いつしか ('before one notices').

PronounUsually KanaDated Term