How to Say Dates and Times in Japanese

When making plans, appointments, and travel arrangements in Japanese-speaking countries, you need to be able to state dates and other calendar terms in Japanese. Understanding the days of the week, the months of the year, and how to tell time in Japanese can help you to avoid confusion.

Days of the week

The Japanese names for the days of the week all end with yōbi. Other phrases used to indicate the days of the week include:

kyō (kyohh) (today)

kinō (kee-nohh) (yesterday)

ashita (ah-shee-tah) (tomorrow)

In Japanese, the words for the months of the year are based on the numbers 1–12 and end in the Japanese word for month: gatsu.

ichi-gatsu (ee-chee-gah-tsoo) (January)

ni-gatsu (nee-gah-tsoo) (February)

san-gatsu (sahn-gah-tsoo) (March)

shi-gatsu (shee-gah-tsoo) (April)

go-gatsu (goh-gah-tsoo) (May)

roku-gatsu (roh-coo-gah-tsoo) (June)

shichi-gatsu (shee-chee-gah-tsoo) (July)

hachi-gatsu (hah-chee-gah-tsoo) (August)

ku-gatsu (coo-gah-tsoo) (September)

jū-gatsu (juuu-gah-tsoo) (October)

jūichi-gatsu (juuu-ee-chee-gah-tsoo) (November)

jūni-gatsu (juuu-ni-gah-tsoo) (December)

Days of the month

When referring to the days of the month in Japanese, you'll see that they are full of irregularities: You can use the following phrases as a guide when talking about dates in Japanese:

• Kyō wa nan-nichi desu ka? (What is today's date?)

• Kyō wa jūroku-nichi desu. (Today is the 16th.)

• Kyō wa nanyōbi desu ka? (What day is it today?)

• Getsuyōbi desu. (It's Monday.)

Telling time

The time of day can be described in general terms or specific times. The following words can be used to describe the general time of day:

asa (ah-sah) (morning)

hiru (hee-roo) (noon)

gogo (goh-goh) (afternoon)

ban (bahn) (evening)

yoru (yoh-roo) (night)

When expressing time between the hours, use these terms to break things down:

ji (o'clock)

jikan (hour)

gozen (a.m.)

gogo (p.m.)

yíkèzhōng (quarter hour)

fun (minute)

byō (second)

han (half)

Japanese commonly uses the 24-hour clock for all official listings, such as plane and train schedules. For every hour after noon, just add an hour. So, 2:15 p.m. is 14:15 (jūyo-ji jūgo-fun).

When you want to know a specific time of day, you can ask, "Ima nan-ji desu ka?" (What time is it now?) The following are some examples of specific times.

You can use the following phrases as a guide when talking about time in Japanese:

• Jūichi-ji jūgo-fun desu. (It's 11:15.)

• Nan-ji kara desu ka? (From what time?)

• Nan-ji made desu ka? (Until what time?)

• Ni-ji kara go-ji made desu. (It's from 2 to 5.)

• Nan-ji ni demasu ka? (At what time are you leaving?)

• San-ji ni demasu. (I'll leave at 3.)

• Nan-jikan kakarimasu ka? (How many hours does it take?)

• Ni-jikan kakarimasu. (It takes two hours.)