Days of the Week in Japanese
Each Japanese day is named after one of the seven classical planets, which is the same system behind the English days. Once you see the pairing, all seven become easy to remember.
The seven days
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月曜日 げつようび getsuyōbi
geh-tsoo-YOH-bee
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Monday
月 is moon, exactly like Monday
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火曜日 かようび kayōbi
kah-YOH-bee
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Tuesday
火 is fire, the planet Mars, as in the French mardi
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水曜日 すいようび suiyōbi
soo-ee-YOH-bee
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Wednesday
水 is water, the planet Mercury, as in mercredi
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木曜日 もくようび mokuyōbi
moh-koo-YOH-bee
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Thursday
木 is wood, the planet Jupiter, as in jeudi
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金曜日 きんようび kinyōbi
keen-YOH-bee
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Friday
金 is gold, the planet Venus, as in vendredi
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土曜日 どようび doyōbi
doh-YOH-bee
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Saturday
土 is earth, the planet Saturn, exactly like Saturday
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日曜日 にちようび nichiyōbi
nee-chee-YOH-bee
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Sunday
日 is sun, exactly like Sunday
Words that go with them
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今日 きょう kyō
kyoh
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today
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明日 あした ashita
ah-SHTAH
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tomorrow
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昨日 きのう kinō
kee-NOH
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yesterday
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今週 こんしゅう konshū
kohn-SHOO
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this week
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週末 しゅうまつ shūmatsu
SHOO-mah-tsoo
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the weekend
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毎日 まいにち mainichi
my-NEE-chee
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every day
The shared origin, and the short form
曜日, yōbi, means day of the week, so every day is element plus yōbi. Learn the seven kanji and the days come free.
The pairing with English is not a coincidence. Both come from the same Hellenistic seven-planet week, which reached Japan through China. Saturday is earth and Saturn in both; Sunday and Monday are sun and moon in both.
In casual writing the 曜日 gets trimmed. A shop sign may say 月曜 or just 月 for Monday.
To say on Monday, add に: 月曜日に. For a habit, use 毎週月曜日, every week Monday.
- 金曜日に会いましょう。Let's meet on Friday.
- 土曜日は働きません。I don't work on Saturdays.
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