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[yōbi](day of the week) and one of the following words:

• 日・にち[nichi](lit. the sun)

• 月・げつ[getsu](lit. the moon)

• 火・か[ka](lit. fire)

• 水・すい[sui](lit. water)

• 木・もく[moku](lit. wood)

• 金・きん[kin](lit. gold, metal)

• 土・ど[do](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[yōbi] to each word. Here's a quick table in hiragana!

The question word is 何曜日[nan yōbi](what day of the week). Let's look at some examples!

The days of the month in Japanese are marked by the unit 日[nichi](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[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[ka], as in ふつか[futsuka](the 2nd day of the month) and はつか[hatsuka](the 20th).

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

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

To ask the day of the month, use the question word 何日[nan nichi](what day of the month).

The name of each month in Japanese is super easy to remember! It’s a number (1 - 12) + 月[gatsu], January being １月[ichi gatsu] and December being １２月[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[nan gatsu](what month).

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

Ask the year using the question word 何年[nan nen](what year).

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

• １世紀・いっせいき[isseiki]

• ８世紀・はっせいき[hasseiki]

• １０世紀・じゅっせいき[jusseiki] or じっせいき[jisseiki]

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

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

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

However, to achieve this meaning after 〜日[nichi], you don't always even need to add 間[kan]; it's optional and is often omitted. So if 間[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[kan] to the question word 何日[nan nichi], which would otherwise mean "what day." 間[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[shūkan]. When counting weeks, we never omit 間[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[isshūkan]

• ８週間・はっしゅうかん[hasshūkan]

• １０週間・じゅっしゅうかん[jusshūkan]

To ask about a number of weeks, use the question word 何週間[nan shūkan](how many weeks).

You can count a number of months in Japanese using a number + か月[kagetsu], which is related to 月[tsuki], the common noun for “month”. You can add 間[kan] after か月[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[ikkagetsu]

• ６か月・ろっかげつ[rokkagetsu]

• ８か月・はちかげつ[hachikagetsu] or はっかげつ[hakkagetsu]

• １０か月・じゅっかげつ[jukkagetsu]

To ask about a number of months, use 何か月[nan kagetsu](how many months).

We count years in Japanese by adding a number before the counter 〜年[nen], which we also saw used to tell someone what year it is. When describing a number of years, you can optionally add 間[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[yo]. To ask how many years something took, use the question word 何年(間)[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[seiki], as in １世紀[isseiki](one century). 間[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[han](half) before with the period-of-time expressions. You can also add a number before 半[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!