How to say the date in Japanese: Days, weeks, months, and years

Each day of the week in Japanese is a combination of 曜日 (transcribed yōbi, meaning “day of the week”) and one of the following words:

1. 日・にち (transcribed nichi, literally lit. the sun)

2. 月・げつ (transcribed getsu, literally lit. the moon)

3. 火・か (transcribed ka, literally lit. fire)

4. 水・すい (transcribed sui, literally lit. water)

5. 木・もく (transcribed moku, literally lit. wood)

6. 金・きん (transcribed kin, literally lit. gold, metal)

7. 土・ど (transcribed do, literally lit. earth, soil)

Repeat this list 5 times before a meal every day for 30 days, and you’ll never forget these words in your entire life! All you have to do then is to add ようび (transcribed yōbi) to each word. Here's a quick table in hiragana!

The question word is 何曜日 (transcribed nan yōbi, meaning “what day of the week”). Let's look at some examples!

The days of the month in Japanese are marked by the unit 日 (transcribed nichi, meaning “day”). The reading of this kanji varies, depending on the number that comes before it. The abridged table below will show off the most important patterns.

Here's what you should notice in the table above:

• For the 1st day of the month, 一日 (or １日) is pronounced as ついたち (transcribed tsuitachi), a reading based on the traditional Japanese date.

• The 2nd to 10th and 20th are also the traditional Japanese dates, in which 日 is instead pronounced as か (transcribed ka), as in ふつか (transcribed futsuka, meaning “the 2nd day of the month”) and はつか (transcribed hatsuka, meaning “the 20th”).

• The 14th and 24th are a combination of Chinese origin numbers—じゅう (transcribed jū, meaning “10”) and にじゅう (transcribed nijū, meaning “20”)—and a traditional Japanese word よっか (transcribed yokka, meaning “the 4th day of the month”) as in じゅうよっか (transcribed jūyokka, meaning “the 14th”).

• The other days are formed by combining a Chinese origin number and 日 (transcribed nichi, meaning “day”) as in じゅういちにち (transcribed jūichi nichi, meaning “the 11th”). Note, though, that in 19th and 29th, 9 is always pronounced く (transcribed ku) as in じゅうくにち (transcribed jūku nichi).

To ask the day of the month, use the question word 何日 (transcribed nan nichi, meaning “what day of the month”).

The name of each month in Japanese is super easy to remember! It’s a number (1 - 12) + 月 (transcribed gatsu), January being １月 (transcribed ichi gatsu) and December being １２月 (transcribed jūni gatsu). Just pay attention to the pronunciation of April, July, and September, which are a little different.

To ask what month it is, use the question word 何月 (transcribed nan gatsu, meaning “what month”).

The calendar year in Japanese is a combination of a number + 年 (transcribed nen). The only special case is when the last number is 4, where４年 is pronounced よねん (transcribed yo nen).

Ask the year using the question word 何年 (transcribed nan nen, meaning “what year”).

We use a number + 世紀 (transcribed seiki) to name the century, as in １９世紀 (transcribed jūkyū seiki, meaning “the 19th century”). Please note that the pronunciation changes for 1, 8, and 10:

• １世紀・いっせいき (transcribed isseiki)

• ８世紀・はっせいき (transcribed hasseiki)

• １０世紀・じゅっせいき (transcribed jusseiki) or じっせいき (transcribed jisseiki)

This means that ２１世紀 (meaning the 21st century), is pronounced にじゅういっせいき (transcribed nijūisseiki).

The year notation B.C.E. (or B.C.) is 紀元前 (transcribed kigenzen) and C.E. (or A.D.) is 紀元 (transcribed kigen). Please note that they are always placed before the number. To ask the century, use the word 何世紀 (transcribed nan seiki, meaning “what century”).

As we saw above, you can usually say how many days something lasts, just by adding 間 (transcribed kan) to whatever point-of-time expression you would use to capture the "xth" day.

However, to achieve this meaning after 〜日 (transcribed nichi), you don't always even need to add 間 (transcribed kan); it's optional and is often omitted. So if 間 (transcribed kan) is missing, you'll need to use context to determine which meaning is intended.

You can also ask "how many days" something took or lasted by adding 間 (transcribed kan) to the question word 何日 (transcribed nan nichi), which would otherwise mean "what day." 間 (transcribed kan) is also optional here, though, so make sure to pay attention to the context!

If you want to describe how many weeks something lasts, just use the number before the word 週間 (transcribed shūkan). When counting weeks, we never omit 間 (transcribed kan). It must be included! For example:

Note that the pronunciation changes when the number of weeks is 1, 8, or 10:

• １週間・いっしゅうかん (transcribed isshūkan)

• ８週間・はっしゅうかん (transcribed hasshūkan)

• １０週間・じゅっしゅうかん (transcribed jusshūkan)

To ask about a number of weeks, use the question word 何週間 (transcribed nan shūkan, meaning “how many weeks”).

You can count a number of months in Japanese using a number + か月 (transcribed kagetsu), which is related to 月 (transcribed tsuki), the common noun for “month”. You can add 間 (transcribed kan) after か月 (transcribed kagetsu), if you want to emphasize that you're talking about a period of time, but it's most often omitted.

Note, though, that the pronunciation changes when the number is 1, 6, 8, or 10:

• １か月・いっかげつ (transcribed ikkagetsu)

• ６か月・ろっかげつ (transcribed rokkagetsu)

• ８か月・はちかげつ (transcribed hachikagetsu) or はっかげつ (transcribed hakkagetsu)

• １０か月・じゅっかげつ (transcribed jukkagetsu)

To ask about a number of months, use 何か月 (transcribed nan kagetsu, meaning “how many months”).

We count years in Japanese by adding a number before the counter 〜年 (transcribed nen), which we also saw used to tell someone what year it is. When describing a number of years, you can optionally add 間 (transcribed kan), and this is often used if the speaker wants to emphasize that they're talking about a period or duration of time.

As we saw above, when the number 4 appears before ４年 is pronounced よ (transcribed yo). To ask how many years something took, use the question word 何年(間) (transcribed nan nen(kan)).

There might not be many occasions to count centuries, but if you have one, simply use the point-of-time unit 世紀 (transcribed seiki), as in １世紀 (transcribed isseiki, meaning “one century”). 間 (transcribed kan) is optional, and it’s common to omit it.

Wondering how to say “half-day” or “half-century”? In most cases, you can just use 半 (transcribed han, meaning “half”) before with the period-of-time expressions. You can also add a number before 半 (transcribed han) to say something like "two and a half days."

The only exception is for weeks. In Japanese, we just don't talk about “half week.”

Here’s a list of some helpful expressions!