片かた時とき

か

た

と

き

JLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

a moment; an instant

Almost always used with も in a negative sentence (〜も…ない) to mean 'not even for a moment'. The reading へんじ is archaic and not used in modern Japanese.

Written forms

片時Usage100%
- かたとき
  Standard kanji spelling. The reading へんじ is rare and not used in modern Japanese.
- へんじ
へんじ

Kanji

片one-sided, leaf, sheet
時time, hour

Similar words

瞬しゅん間かん
瞬間 is a general word for 'moment' or 'instant' and can be used in positive and negative sentences. 片時 is almost exclusively used with も in negative constructions.
一いっ時とき
一時 means 'a short time' or 'temporarily' and is not restricted to negative sentences. 片時 emphasizes the brevity of time in a negative context.

Etymology

片 (かた, 'one side' or 'fragment') + 時 (とき, 'time'), literally 'a fragment of time'. The reading かたとき is the standard modern form; へんじ is an archaic Sino-Japanese reading no longer in use.