Days of the week
The Japanese names for the days of the week all end with yōbi.| Japanese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| getsuyôbi | geh-tsoo-yooo-bee | Monday |
| kayôbi | kah-yooo-bee | Tuesday |
| suiyôbi | soo-ee-yooo-bee | Wednesday |
| mokuyôbi | moh-coo-yooo-bee | Thursday |
| kinyôbi | keen-yooo-bee | Friday |
| doyôbi | doh-yooo-bee | Saturday |
| nichiyôbi | nee-chee-yooo-bee | Sunday |
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:| tsuitachi | the first |
| futsuka | the second |
| mikka | the third |
| yokka | the fourth |
| itsuka | the fifth |
| muika | the sixth |
| nanoka | the seventh |
| yôka | the eighth |
| Kokonoka | the ninth |
| tôka | the tenth |
| jûichi-nichi | the 11th |
| jûni-nichi | the 12th |
| jûsan-nichi | the 13th |
| jûyokka | the 14th |
| jûgo-nichi | the 15th |
| jûroku-nichi | the 16th |
| jûshichi-nichi | the 17th |
| jûhachi-nichi | the 18th |
| jûku-nichi | the 19th |
| hatsuka | the 20th |
| nijûichi-nichi | the 21st |
| nijûni-nichi | the 22nd |
| nijûsan-nichi | the 23rd |
| nijûyokka | the 24th |
| nijûgo-nichi | the 25th |
| nijûroku-nichi | the 26th |
| nijûshichi-nichi | the 27th |
| nijûhachi-nichi | the 28th |
| nijûku-nichi | the 29th |
| sanjû-nichi | the 30th |
| sanjûichi-nichi | the 31st |
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Kyō wa nan-nichi desu ka? (What is today's date?)
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Kyō wa jūroku-nichi desu. (Today is the 16th.)
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Kyō wa nanyōbi desu ka? (What day is it today?)
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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.
| ichi-ji | 1 o'clock |
| ni-ji | 2 o'clock |
| san-ji | 3 o'clock |
| yo-ji | 4 o'clock |
| go-ji | 5 o'clock |
| roku-ji | 6 o'clock |
| shichi-ji | 7 o'clock |
| hachi-ji | 8 o'clock |
| ku-ji | 9 o'clock |
| jû-ji | 10 o'clock |
| jûichi-ji | 11 o'clock |
| jûni-ji | 12 o'clock |
| shichi-ji jûgo-fun | 7:15 |
| jûichi-ji go-fun mae | 10:55 (5 minutes to 11) |
| gozen jûichi-ji | 11 a.m. |
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Jūichi-ji jūgo-fun desu. (It's 11:15.)
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Nan-ji kara desu ka? (From what time?)
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Nan-ji made desu ka? (Until what time?)
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Ni-ji kara go-ji made desu. (It's from 2 to 5.)
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Nan-ji ni demasu ka? (At what time are you leaving?)
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San-ji ni demasu. (I'll leave at 3.)
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Nan-jikan kakarimasu ka? (How many hours does it take?)
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Ni-jikan kakarimasu. (It takes two hours.)