Lesson 5
Days, Dates, and Time
Telling Time: Hours and Minutes
In Japanese, hours are counted using the suffix 時 (ji) directly after a number. While most hours follow standard Japanese counting, pay close attention to three key irregular readings: 4:00 is read as よじ (yoji), not 'yonji'; 7:00 is しちじ (shichiji), not 'nanaji'; and 9:00 is くじ (kuji), not 'kyūji'. To specify AM or PM, place 午前 (gozen, AM) or 午後 (gogo, PM) before the time, such as 午前八時 (gozen hachi-ji, 8:00 AM).
Minutes are expressed using the counter 分, which alternates in pronunciation between ふん (fun) and ぷん (pun) depending on the preceding digit for ease of pronunciation. For instance: 1 minute is いっぷん (ippun), 2 minutes is にふん (nifun), 3 minutes is さんぷん (sanpun), 4 minutes is よんぷん (yonpun), 5 minutes is ごふん (gofun), 6 minutes is ろっぷん (roppun), 7 minutes is ななふん (nanafun), 8 minutes is はっぷん (happun), 9 minutes is きゅうふん (kyūfun), and 10 minutes is じゅっぷん (juppun). To say 'half past', you can use the word 半 (han), as in 二時半 (niji han, 2:30). To ask the time, use 何時ですか (Nan-ji desu ka? / What time is it?).
Days of the Week
The days of the week in Japanese are named after astronomical elements and classical planets, each ending with the suffix 曜日 (yōbi, day of the week). Monday is 月曜日 (getsuyōbi, Moon day), Tuesday is 火曜日 (kayōbi, Fire day), Wednesday is 水曜日 (suiyōbi, Water day), Thursday is 木曜日 (mokuyōbi, Wood day), Friday is 金曜日 (kin'yōbi, Gold/Metal day), Saturday is 土曜日 (doyōbi, Earth day), and Sunday is 日曜日 (nichiyōbi, Sun day).
In casual speech, native speakers frequently drop the ~bi suffix and refer to days simply by the first two syllables, such as getsuyō or kin'yō. To ask what day of the week it is, use the question word 何 (nan) paired with the counter: 今日は何曜日ですか (Kyō wa nan-yōbi desu ka? / What day of the week is today?). A typical response would be 金曜日です (Kin'yōbi desu / It is Friday).
Months of the Year
Months in Japanese are formed logically by combining the standard digit (1 through 12) with the counter suffix 月, read as がつ (gatsu). For example, January is 一月 (ichigatsu) and December is 十二月 (jūnigatsu). Unlike the English calendar with distinct historical names, Japanese simply numbers each month.
However, there are three important irregular readings to memorize among the months. April is 四月 (shigatsu), using the reading 'shi' instead of 'yon'. July is 七月 (shichigatsu), using 'shichi' instead of 'nana'. September is 九月 (kugatsu), using the short reading 'ku' rather than 'kyū'. The question word for asking which month is 何月 (nan-gatsu).
Days of the Month (Dates)
Days of the month present one of the most famous challenges for Japanese learners because the first ten days use native Japanese readings rather than standard Sino-Japanese numbers. The first through the tenth are: 1st ついたち (tsuitachi), 2nd ふつか (futsuka), 3rd みっか (mikka), 4th よっか (yokka), 5th いつか (itsuka), 6th むいか (muika), 7th なのか (nanoka), 8th ようか (yōka), 9th ここのか (kokonoka), and 10th とおか (tōka).
From the 11th onward, dates generally follow the regular pattern of the number plus the counter suffix 日 (nichi), such as 十五日 (jūgo-nichi, 15th). However, watch out for three specific compound exceptions: the 14th is 十四日 (jūyokka), the 20th has a unique reading called 二十日 (hatsuka), and the 24th is 二十四日 (nijūyokka). To ask what day of the month it is, say 何日ですか (Nan-nichi desu ka?). When writing a full date, Japanese always moves from largest to smallest unit: 年 (nen, year) -> 月 (gatsu, month) -> 日 (nichi, day).
Time Particles: に, から, and まで
To indicate the exact point in time at which an action takes place, use the particle に (ni) after the time expression. For example: 七時に起きます (Shichi-ji ni okimasu / I wake up at 7:00) or 五月十日に日本へ行きます (Gogatsu tōka ni Nihon e ikimasu / I will go to Japan on May 10th). As a general rule, use に when the expression contains a specific number or date.
Importantly, the particle に is omitted after relative time words that change depending on when you speak, such as 今日 (kyō, today), 明日 (ashita, tomorrow), 昨日 (kinō, yesterday), 今 (ima, now), and 毎日 (mainichi, every day). For instance, write 明日勉強します (Ashita benkyō shimasu / I will study tomorrow) without に. To specify time ranges, pair から (kara, from) with まで (made, until): 九時から五時まで働きます (Kuji kara goji made hatarakimasu / I work from 9:00 to 5:00).
Lesson quiz · 1 of 5
How do you correctly read 4:00 in Japanese?