Giving unique directions in Japanese.
Hello everyone,

I'm trying to refine my ability to give directions in Japanese and came to a roadblock when trying to express unique directions other than the normal ones given in the textbook. I tried to say,

"Keep going straight for about three minutes." and came up with
約３分間にまっすぐ行き続けてください。

I'm not sure if this is grammatically correct or if it is understandable to a native-Japanese sense.

I also tried to express,
"Keep going straight until you see the library."
"図書館を見るまで、まっすぐ行き続けてください。"

Again, not sure if this is correct or not. Any help would be appreciated! :D

Thank you,
Kai

Question

Giving unique directions in Japanese.
Hello everyone,

I'm trying to refine my ability to give directions in Japanese and came to a roadblock when trying to express unique directions other than the normal ones given in the textbook. I tried to say,

"Keep going straight for about three minutes." and came up with
約３分間にまっすぐ行き続けてください。

I'm not sure if this is grammatically correct or if it is understandable to a native-Japanese sense.

I also tried to express, 
"Keep going straight until you see the library."
"図書館を見るまで、まっすぐ行き続けてください。"

Again, not sure if this is correct or not. Any help would be appreciated! :D

Thank you,
Kai

Answer

The two sentences you said are grammatically correct.
However, I would say as follows as natural expressions in Japanese people.

>"Keep going straight for about three minutes."
>約３分間にまっすぐ行き続けてください。
３分くらいまっすぐ行ってください。
３分くらいこのまま歩いていってください。
３分ほど～

We Japanese people have learned keep ~ing=~続ける as its direct translation.
I guess however, its nuance in Japanese conversation is like the above.
"for about xxx minutes=約３分間" Yes, I think this is also grammatically correct 
but to me, 約３分間 in conversation is kinda businesslike.
(It's like instructions of manuals or something)

>"Keep going straight until you see the library."
>"図書館を見るまで、まっすぐ行き続けてください。"
図書館が見えるまで、the same as the above after that.

Hope it helps.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!