How so you say ー時間半 in English?
Most Japanese translate it literally (直訳) as one hour and a half.
一時間 半
↓ ↓
❌ one hour and a half
This is wrong. Not only wrong, it sounds very unnatural.
So how can we fix this common mistake?
Very simply. Instead of saying “one” say “an”.
An hour.
⭕️ AN hour and a half.
When you say it quickly, it sounds like “annower anna half”.
It took AN hour and a half.
It took me AN hour and a half to come here.
The movie lasted AN hour and a half.
Again, one hour and a half is WRONG ❌
AN hour and a half is correct ⭕️
Now, there are other ways to say “an hour and a half”.
It takes about 90 minutes.
It takes about one and a half hours.
Note the “s” at the end of hours.
So, It takes about one hour and a half is WRONG ❌ But the others are correct ⭕️
It takes about an hour and a half.
It takes about 90 minutes.
It takes about one and a half hours.
The last one is important to remember as it can be used for other lengths of time. For example:
ONE and a half hourS
TWO and a half minuteS
THREE and a half dayS
FOUR and a half weekS
FIVE and a half monthS
SIX and a half yearS