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All Japanese activities

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

By: Mayumi Ito

Exercise 1: Translate the dates

Let’s review what we covered in the article! Can you fill the blanks below either in hiragana or romaji? This is not a test, but try on your own first before having a peek at the article or the tables!

  1. Monday:

  2. Thursday:

  3. Saturday:

  4. April:

  5. July:

  6. September:

  7. Year 1984:

  8. The 21st Century:

  9. Tuesday, May 5th, 2023:

  10. Four weeks:

  11. One month:

  12. Three times a year:

Exercise 2: Telling the date

Let’s practice telling the date! Here’s what Yoko’s January looks like. Use the information to work on Part 1 & 2. For practice, let’s spell out the time either in hiragana or romaji!

January

SunMonTueWedThuFriSat

1

New Year's Day 🎍

2

Nick’s birthday 🎁

3

High school reunion

4

Going to a ski trip 🚍

5

Ski 🎿

6

Ski 🎿

7

Return home🏠

8

Going to Grandma's 👵🏻

9

Coming-of- the-age day 🎌

10

11

12

13

I'm not going anywhere!

14

15

My sister’s wedding👰

16

Study group 📚

17

18

Study group 📚

19

20

Study group 📚

21

22

23

Exam 📝

24

Exam 📝

25

Exam 📝

26

Exam 📝

27

Exam 📝

28

Going to sleep all day…😴

29

30

31

Part 1: Finish Yoko's sentences

Complete Yoko’s sentences using the calendar as your clues.

  1. はとても忙しいです。
    ... wa totemo isogashii desu.
    I’m going to be very busy in January.

  2. は元日です。家族とおせち料理*を食べます。
    ... wa ganjitsu desu. Kazoku to osechi ryōri o tabemasu.
    The 1st (of the month) is New Year’s Day. I’m going to eat special New’s Year’s Day dishes with my family.

  3. はニックの誕生日です。プレゼントをあげます。
    ... wa Nikku no tanjōbi desu. Purezento o agemasu.
    The 2nd is Nick’s birthday. I’m going to give him a present.

  4. は高校の同窓会があります。
    ... wa kōkō no dōsōkai ga arimasu.
    We’ll have a high school reunion on the 3rd.

  5. から 　までスキー旅行に行きます。楽しみです！ ... kara ... made sukii ryokō ni ikimasu. Tanoshimi desu! I’m going on a ski trip from the 4th to the 7th. I’m looking forward to it!

Part 2: Complete the dialogues

Let’s pretend you are talking to Yoko about her January schedule. Create short dialogues below by filling blanks.

    • You: おばあさんの家へ遊びに行きますか。
      ... obāsan no uchi e asobi ni ikimasu ka.　
      ... are you going to go to your grandmother’s house for a visit?

    • Yoko: に行きます。
      ... ni ikimasu
      I'm going on ... .

    • You: 成人の日はですか。
      Seijin no hi wa ... desu ka.
      What day of the month is the Coming-of-Age Day?

    • Yoko: 今年は です。
      Kotoshi wa ... desu.
      It’s ... this year.

    • You: お姉さんの結婚式は１５日でしたね。ですか。
      Onēsan no kekkonshiki wa jūgo nichi deshita ne. ... desu ka.
      Your elder sister’s wedding is on the 15th, right? ... is it?

    • Yoko: です。
      ... desu.
      It’s on ... .

    • You: 大学の試験はありますか。
      Daigaku no shiken wa ... arimasu ka.
      For ... do you have exams for your college classes?

    • Yoko: です。
      ... desu.
      I have [exams] for ... .

    • You: 勉強会はに何回ありますか。
      Benkyōkai wa ... ni nan kai arimasu ka.
      How many times ... are you going to meet for your study group?

    • Yoko: ３回です。ととにあります。
      Sankai desu. ... to ... to ... ni arimasu.
      Three times. We’ll meet on ... , ... , and ... .

Exercise 3:

Now let’s talk about yourself! Use the following template to write a short self-introduction, filling the blanks with your own information. For practice, let’s spell out the numbers either in hiragana or romaji! You can add any other information as you like!
  1. 私の名前はです。
    Transcription: Watashi no namae wa __ desu.
    Translation: My name is __.
  2. にで生まれました。
    Transcription: __ ni __ de umaremashita.
    Translation: I was born in __ in __ .
  3. 誕生日はです。
    Transcription: Tanjōbi wa __ desu.
    Translation: My birthday is on __.
  4. で日本語を勉強しました。どうぞよろしく！
    Transcription: __ de __ Nihongo o benkyō shimashita. Dōzo yoroshiku!
    Translation: I’ve studied Japanese for __ at __. Nice to meet you!