Days, Months and Dates in Japanese
The Japanese weekdays and their elements, how months are formed from numbers, and the irregular readings used for days of the month.
Japanese calendar words are easy in one way (months are just numbers) and tricky in another (the days of the month have special readings).
Days of the week
The names come from the sun, moon and five elements:
| Day | Japanese | Reading | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 日曜日 | にちようび (nichiyōbi) | sun |
| Monday | 月曜日 | げつようび (getsuyōbi) | moon |
| Tuesday | 火曜日 | かようび (kayōbi) | fire |
| Wednesday | 水曜日 | すいようび (suiyōbi) | water |
| Thursday | 木曜日 | もくようび (mokuyōbi) | wood |
| Friday | 金曜日 | きんようび (kin'yōbi) | metal / gold |
| Saturday | 土曜日 | どようび (doyōbi) | earth |
曜日 (yōbi) means "day of the week". Knowing these kanji helps you remember both the words and the elements.
Months
Months are the number plus 月 (がつ, gatsu):
| Month | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| January | 一月 | いちがつ (ichigatsu) |
| February | 二月 | にがつ (nigatsu) |
| March | 三月 | さんがつ (sangatsu) |
| April | 四月 | しがつ (shigatsu) |
| May | 五月 | ごがつ (gogatsu) |
| June | 六月 | ろくがつ (rokugatsu) |
| July | 七月 | しちがつ (shichigatsu) |
| August | 八月 | はちがつ (hachigatsu) |
| September | 九月 | くがつ (kugatsu) |
| October | 十月 | じゅうがつ (jūgatsu) |
| November | 十一月 | じゅういちがつ (jūichigatsu) |
| December | 十二月 | じゅうにがつ (jūnigatsu) |
Note that April is しがつ, July is しちがつ and September is くがつ.
Days of the month
The first ten days, and the twentieth, have special readings:
| Day | Reading |
|---|---|
| 1st | ついたち (tsuitachi) |
| 2nd | ふつか (futsuka) |
| 3rd | みっか (mikka) |
| 4th | よっか (yokka) |
| 5th | いつか (itsuka) |
| 6th | むいか (muika) |
| 7th | なのか (nanoka) |
| 8th | ようか (yōka) |
| 9th | ここのか (kokonoka) |
| 10th | とおか (tōka) |
| 20th | はつか (hatsuka) |
Other days use the number plus 日 (にち, nichi): 十一日 (jūichinichi), 二十五日 (nijūgonichi). The 14th and 24th also use special readings (じゅうよっか and にじゅうよっか).
Writing dates
Japanese dates go from large to small: year, month, day.
- 2026年4月5日 — April 5, 2026 (nisen nijūroku-nen, shigatsu, itsuka)
Japan also uses an era system. The current era is 令和 (Reiwa), which began in 2019.
Useful phrases
- 今日は何曜日ですか。 — What day is it today?
- 今日は月曜日です。 — Today is Monday.
- 誕生日は何月何日ですか。 — What is your birthday?
Tips
- Learn the weekday kanji with their elements.
- Memorise the first ten days as a set.
- Use the dictionary to check readings.
English Japanese Dictionary
Offline English–Japanese dictionary with kanji, hiragana and katakana support
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