- Every weekday ends in 曜日 (yōbi). The first kanji tells you which day: 月 moon = Monday, 火 fire = Tuesday, and so on.
- Months are number + 月 (gatsu): 1月 ichigatsu = January. Watch out for April, July and September.
- Days of the month 1–10, 14, 20 and 24 have special readings, such as ついたち for the 1st.
- Dates go big to small: year → month → day, like 2026年9月29日.
The days of the week
Japanese weekdays follow the same system as many European languages: they’re named after the sun, the moon and the five visible planets, which in East Asia are linked to the elements fire, water, wood, metal and earth.
- げつようびgetsuyōbiMonday · 月曜日月 moon
- かようびkayōbiTuesday · 火曜日火 fire (Mars)
- すいようびsuiyōbiWednesday · 水曜日水 water (Mercury)
- もくようびmokuyōbiThursday · 木曜日木 wood (Jupiter)
- きんようびkin’yōbiFriday · 金曜日金 gold, metal (Venus)
- どようびdoyōbiSaturday · 土曜日土 earth (Saturn)
- にちようびnichiyōbiSunday · 日曜日日 sun
In speech, people often drop the び: げつよう, かよう. And “what day is it?” is なんようびですか (nan’yōbi desu ka).
The kanji in the weekdays are some of the most useful first kanji you can learn. Several appear in our guide to your first 10 kanji.
The months
Months are the easiest part: just a number plus がつ (gatsu, written 月). If you know the Japanese numbers, you already know most of them.
| 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 (not yon) |
| May | 五月 | ごがつ gogatsu |
| June | 六月 | ろくがつ rokugatsu |
| July | 七月 | しちがつ shichigatsu (not nana) |
| August | 八月 | はちがつ hachigatsu |
| September | 九月 | くがつ kugatsu (not kyū) |
| 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 |
Only three exceptions: April, July and September use the other reading of 4, 7 and 9. “Which month?” is なんがつ (nangatsu).
Days of the month: the tricky part
Most dates are simply number + にち (nichi): the 12th is じゅうににち. But the first ten days and a few others use old native readings. Tap to hear them:
- ついたちtsuitachi1st
- ふつかfutsuka2nd
- みっかmikka3rd
- よっかyokka4th
- いつかitsuka5th
- むいかmuika6th
- なのかnanoka7th
- ようかyōka8th
- ここのかkokonoka9th
- とおかtōka10th
- じゅうよっかjūyokka14th
- はつかhatsuka20th
- にじゅうよっかnijūyokka24th
Everything else is regular: じゅういちにち (11th), じゅうごにち (15th), さんじゅうにち (30th). Note that the 17th is じゅうしちにち and the 19th is じゅうくにち.
Today, tomorrow, next week
| Past | Now | Next | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | きのう kinō (yesterday) | きょう kyō (today) | あした ashita (tomorrow) |
| Week | せんしゅう senshū | こんしゅう konshū | らいしゅう raishū |
| Month | せんげつ sengetsu | こんげつ kongetsu | らいげつ raigetsu |
| Year | きょねん kyonen | ことし kotoshi | らいねん rainen |
Notice the pattern: せん = last, こん = this, らい = next. Only day and year have their own words.
How to write a date
Japanese dates go from big to small: year, month, day, weekday.
| Written | Read | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 2026年9月29日 | にせんにじゅうろくねん くがつ にじゅうくにち | 29 September 2026 |
| 9月29日（火） | くがつ にじゅうくにち かようび | Tuesday, 29 September |
The weekday is often written as a single kanji in brackets: （月）, （火）, （水）… you’ll see this on every receipt and calendar.
What is Friday in Japanese?
How do you say April?
What is ついたち?
How do you say next week?
Frequently asked questions
What are the days of the week in Japanese?
Monday getsuyōbi (月曜日), Tuesday kayōbi (火曜日), Wednesday suiyōbi (水曜日), Thursday mokuyōbi (木曜日), Friday kin'yōbi (金曜日), Saturday doyōbi (土曜日) and Sunday nichiyōbi (日曜日).
How do you say the months in Japanese?
Add gatsu (月) to the number: ichigatsu (January), nigatsu (February) and so on. The exceptions are April (shigatsu), July (shichigatsu) and September (kugatsu).
Why is the 1st of the month tsuitachi?
The days 1 to 10, as well as the 14th, 20th and 24th, use traditional native Japanese readings. Tsuitachi for the 1st is one of these, and comes from an old word for the start of the month.
How do you write the date in Japanese?
From largest to smallest unit: year, month, day, for example 2026年9月29日. The weekday is often added in brackets, like （火） for Tuesday.