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I wasn't sure how to properly word the question, but I'm asking how to make sentences such as:

  • "I have lived in America for 10 years."
  • "I will go to Japan for a month."
  • "I have had this job for a year."
  • "I left for a few minutes."
  • "I will leave in an hour."

And so on. How do I structure it?

Noodle
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    We do not do translations, at least include your attempts even if there are not right BUT do not include google translate attemps because we can see though it. – 永劫回帰 May 05 '16 at 03:07
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    The first four is slightly different from the last one. The difference is also reflected in English (use of "for" as opposed to "in") – Flaw May 05 '16 at 06:24
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    I feel that this isn't exactly a translation/proofreading question. The sentences are incidental, and the intention is not to ask for an ad-hoc check of the sentence or for a particular phrase. It's asking about the grammar required to express duration. Which is probably why the close vote threshold isn't reached yet. – Flaw May 05 '16 at 06:29

2 Answers2

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For the first four of your sentences (or, for "for X years / months / days / minutes / seconds"), I would use 「～[間]{かん}」, or just a counter such as 年, ヶ月, 日, 分 with no suffix (～間), or 「～の[間]{あいだ}」 depending on context, as in:

  • アメリカに｛[１０年間]{じゅうねんかん} / １０年｝住んでいます。 I have lived in the US for 10 years.
    (or アメリカに｛[住]{す}んで / 住み[始]{はじ}めて｝１０年になります。 It's been 10 years since I started to live in the US.)
  • 日本に｛[２ヶ月間]{にかげつかん} / ２ヶ月｝[滞在]{たいざい}します。 I'll stay in Japan for two months.
  • この仕事を｛[３年間]{さんねんかん} / ３年｝しています。 I have had this job for 3 years.
    (or この仕事｛を始めて / に[就]{つ}いて｝３年になります。 It's been 3 years since I started this job.)
  • ｛[数分間]{すうふんかん} / 数分 / 数分の[間]{あいだ}｝、[席]{せき}を[離]{はな}れました。 I left for a few minutes.
  • ｛[２日間]{ふつかかん} / ２日｝[待]{ま}ってください。 Please wait for two days.*

*"For one day" is just [１日]{いちにち} and not [１日間]{いちにちかん}, although you can say [２日間]{ふつかかん}, [３日間]{みっかかん}..., and [１年間]{いちねんかん}, [１ヶ月間]{いっかげつかん}, [１分間]{いっぷんかん}, [１秒間]{いちびょうかん}.

For "for X hours" and "for X weeks", you'd normally use 「X時間」「X週間」, as in:

  • [８時間]{はちじかん}寝ました。 I slept for 8 hours. (not 「８時寝ました」 or 「８時間間寝ました」)
  • [１週間]{いっしゅうかん}[留守]{るす}にします。 I'll be away from home for a week. (not 「１週留守にします」 or 「１週間間留守にします」)

For your last sentence, I would use 「～～で」 or 「～～[後]{ご}に」, as in:

  • ｛[１時間]{いちじかん}[後]{ご}に / ([後]{あと})１時間で｝[出]{で}ます。/ [出発]{しゅっぱつ}します。 I'll leave in one hour.
  • ｛[５分]{ごふん}[後]{ご}に / ([後]{あと})５分で｝出ます。/ 出発します。 I'll leave in 5 minutes.
chocolate
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Although all sentences I can translate. 上の4つ for are ~間. Only the last sentence is 一時間で.

Eddie Kal
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Takahiro Waki
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