Many aspects of our lives revolve around the day of the week. School and work schedules, holidays, and trash pick-up days are all tied to what day it is. Because it’s such an ever-present concept, being able to talk about the days of the week in Japanese is essential for beginners learning the language.
There are only seven words you need for the day of the week—this guide explains what they are and how to remember them. Then, you can take the next step to learning about the date and how everything fits within calendars. Before you know it, you’ll be scheduling your coffee date and Rosetta Stone tutoring sessions in Japanese!
Table of Contents
What are the days of the week in Japanese?
Like the Western calendar, Japan uses a seven-day week, which includes five workdays and two weekend days. Each day in Japanese ends in -yōbi (曜日), which means the only difference you have to remember with the days of the week in Japanese is the first kanji and its pronunciation.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | English |
| 月曜日 | getsuyōbi | geh-tsoo-yoh-bee | Monday |
| 火曜日 | kayōbi | kah-yoh-bee | Tuesday |
| 水曜日 | suiyōbi | soo-ee-yoh-bee | Wednesday |
| 木曜日 | mokuyōbi | moh-koo-yoh-bee | Thursday |
| 金曜日 | kinyōbi | keen-yoh-bee | Friday |
| 土曜日 | doyōbi | doh-yoh-bee | Saturday |
| 日曜日 | nichiyōbi | nee-chee-yoh-bee | Sunday |
Where did the names of the days of the week come from?
The days of the week in English have Roman and Norse mythology origins, but the names of the days of the week in Japanese are based on the sun, moon, and planets that can reliably be seen with the naked eye. This is similar to the way other cultures around the world divided their weeks and months. The difference in the order of the kanji used in the days of the week versus the order of the planets is related to the visual rotation of the celestial bodies day by day.
| Japanese | Romanization | English |
| 太陽・日 | taiyō/hi | sun; day |
| 月 | tsuki | moon |
| 水星 | suisei | Mercury |
| 金星 | kinsei | Venus |
| 火星 | kasei | Mars |
| 木星 | mokusei | Jupiter |
| 土星 | dosei | Saturn |
How to remember Japanese weekdays
An easy way to remember the days of the week in Japanese is by looking at the kanji and their meanings rather than what the word sounds like. Japanese calendars often abbreviate the days of the week by omitting the -yōbi part of the word, leaving the first character by itself. As long as you know that, the rest is easy!
- Getsuyōbi (Monday): The character 月 means “moon,” which is exactly where Mon-day gets its name.
- Kayōbi (Tuesday): The character 火 means “fire.” After a sluggish Monday, it’s time to get “fired up” on Tuesday.
- Suiyōbi (Wednesday): The character 水 means “water.” Water is wet, and the word “wet” is close to Wed-nesday. You can also picture Wednesday as the crest of a wave in the middle of the week.
- Mokuyōbi (Thursday): The character 木 means “tree” or “wood.” In English, Thursday comes from “Thor’s Day,” referring to the Norse god associated with lightning and thunder. Picture Thor’s thunderbolt striking the tallest thing around: a tree!
- Kinyōbi (Friday): The character 金 means “gold” or “money.” Friday is usually payday, so you get your “money” then.
- Doyōbi (Saturday): The character 土 means “earth.” After a long week, it’s much easier to feel “grounded” on the first day of the weekend.
- Nichiyōbi (Sunday): The character 日 means “sun” or “day,” which equals to—you guessed it—“Sunday”!
How to say the date in Japanese
Japanese dates use a unique Japanese counter that mixes two different suffixes (-ka and -nichi) in pronunciation while using the same kanji suffix (日). Visually, the dates look very uniform: the number plus the kanji character for day. However, certain days require special attention and are bolded in the chart below.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | English |
| 一日 | tsuitachi | tsoo-ee-tah-chee | 1st |
| 二日 | futsuka | foo-tsoo-kah | 2nd |
| 三日 | mikka | meek-kah | 3rd |
| 四日 | yokka | yohk-kah | 4th |
| 五日 | itsuka | ee-tsoo-kah | 5th |
| 六日 | muika | moo-ee-kah | 6th |
| 七日 | nanoka | nah-noh-kah | 7th |
| 八日 | yōka | yoh-kah | 8th |
| 九日 | kokonoka | koh-koh-noh-kah | 9th |
| 十日 | tōka | toh-kah | 10th |
| 十一日 | jūichinichi | joo-ee-chee-nee-chee | 11th |
| 十二日 | jūninichi | joo-nee-nee-chee | 12th |
| 十三日 | jūsannichi | joo-sahn-nee-chee | 13th |
| 十四日 | jūyokka | joo-yohk-kah | 14th |
| 十五日 | jūgonichi | joo-goh-nee-chee | 15th |
| 十六日 | jūrokunichi | joo-roh-koo-nee-chee | 16th |
| 十七日 | jūshichinichi | joo-shee-chee-nee-chee | 17th |
| 十八日 | jūhachinichi | joo-hah-chee-nee-chee | 18th |
| 十九日 | jūkunichi | joo-koo-nee-chee | 19th |
| 二十日 | hatsuka | hah-tsoo-kah | 20th |
| 二十一日 | nijūichinichi | nee-joo-ee-chee-nee-chee | 21st |
| 二十二日 | nijūninichi | nee-joo-nee-nee-chee | 22nd |
| 二十三日 | nijūsannichi | nee-joo-sahn-nee-chee | 23rd |
| 二十四日 | nijūyokka | nee-joo-yohk-kah | 24th |
| 二十五日 | nijūgonichi | nee-joo-goh-nee-chee | 25th |
| 二十六日 | nijūrokunichi | nee-joo-roh-koo-nee-chee | 26th |
| 二十七日 | nijūshichinichi | nee-joo-shee-chee-nee-chee | 27th |
| 二十八日 | nijūhachinichi | nee-joo-hah-chee-nee-chee | 28th |
| 二十九日 | nijūkunichi | nee-joo-koo-nee-chee | 29th |
| 三十日 | sanjūnichi | sahn-joo-nee-chee | 30th |
| 三十一日 | sanjūichinichi | sahn-joo-ee-chee-nee-chee | 31st |
What are the irregular days of the month in Japanese?
On the Japanese calendar, days 1-10, 14, 19, 20, 24, and 29 have irregular pronunciations. When learning the days of the month, you may find it useful to learn the first 10 days separately and then add the rest of the days to your vocabulary once you feel comfortable. The rest of the days (other than those ending in 4 or 9) are just like counting numbers in Japanese with an added suffix, which is much more straightforward.
The first day of the month (tsuitachi) and the twentieth day of the month (hatsuka) are the most unusual. Tsuitachi comes from the word tsukitachi (月立ち), meaning “first day of the month.” Hatsuka uses the suffix -ka, but hatsu is an old word for 20.
Useful words to talk about days in Japanese
Knowing the days is important, but so is understanding how to talk about them. The time words in this table will help you put the present day into context.
| Japanese | Romanization | Pronunciation | English |
| 今日 | kyō | kyoh | today |
| 明日 | ashita | ah-shee-tah | tomorrow |
| 明後日 | asatte | ah-saht-teh | day after tomorrow |
| 昨日 | kinō | kee-noh | yesterday |
| 一昨日 | ototoi | oh-toh-toh-ee | day before yesterday |
| 毎日 | mainichi | mah-ee-nee-chee | every day |
| 何日 | nannichi | nahn-nee-chee | What day?; How many days? |
| 何曜日 | nanyōbi | nahn-yoh-bee | What day of the week? |
Example sentences with Japanese days of the week
You can look at a calendar and see the days of the week in Japanese written along the top edge, but using them in a sentence requires knowing the grammar behind Japanese particles and time.
In many cases, the day of the week is used in a sentence to specify when something is happening. If the day goes before the “to be” verb (desu, です), no additional particle is necessary, just like a Japanese noun. Take a look at these example sentences to see the days of the week in context.
- Sakkā no shiai wa nanyōbi desu ka?（サッカーの試合は何曜日ですか？）= What day is the soccer match?
- Doyōbi desu.（土曜日です。）= It’s on Saturday.
If the day goes in the middle of the sentence instead of before the “to be” verb, days use the particle ni (に) just like hours and time in Japanese.
- Watashitachi wa kayōbi ni shiken ga arimasu.（私たちは火曜日に試験があります。）= We have an exam on Tuesday.
A day can be the topic of the sentence rather than a time. In that case, the topic particle wa (は) is used after the day of the week.
- Suiyōbi wa pinku no fuku wo kiru.（水曜日はピンクの服を着る。）= On Wednesdays we wear pink.
Example sentences with Japanese dates
Using Japanese dates in a sentence is very similar to using the days of the week in Japanese in a sentence. Overall, the grammatical rules are identical. This is a perfect opportunity to practice using the months of the year in Japanese as well.
- Tanjōbi wa ichigatsu sanjūichinichi desu.（誕生日は一月三十一日です。）= My birthday is January 31st.
- Kyō wa nannichi desu ka?（今日は何日ですか？）= What day is today?
- Nijūyokka desu.（二十四日です。）= It’s the 24th.
- Nigatsu futsuka ni ryōshin ga kimasu.（二月二日に両親が来ます。）= My parents are coming on February 2nd.
- Shichigatsu nanoka wa tanabata desu.（七月七日は七夕です。）= July 7th is Tanabata (Star Festival).
Immerse yourself in Japanese daily life with Rosetta Stone
Your calendar makes a great study aid. It helps you track what days you set aside time for learning Japanese, when you have tests or appointments, and how long until your next opportunity to speak with another person in Japanese. Why not take it a step further? Scratch out the “Monday” on your calendar and replace it with getsuyōbi (月曜日) and read the date to yourself in Japanese every morning. By next month, you’ll be a pro at the days of the month and days of the week in Japanese.
With Rosetta Stone, you learn the days of the week the same way you learned your native language: through context and immersion. The Dynamic Immersion method enables you to learn words individually—but more importantly, you’ll immediately see them in sentences with images and audio from native speakers.
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