Days of the week and months in Japanese
Days of the week in Japanese end with 曜日 (yōbi) and are named after elements: Monday — 月曜日 getsuyōbi (Moon), Tuesday — 火曜日 kayōbi (Fire), and so on until Sunday 日曜日 nichiyōbi (Sun). Months are number + 月 (gatsu): January — 一月 ichigatsu. There are exceptions: 4月 shigatsu, 7月 shichigatsu, 9月 kugatsu. In Japanese Zen this is taught in the vocabulary section.
The Japanese week is a parade of elements: Monday belongs to the Moon, Tuesday to Fire, Wednesday to Water. Seven days, seven forces of nature. And months are simply counted on fingers: first month, second month, third month — as if the year is numbered, not named.
Days of the week in Japanese
| Day | Japanese | Reading | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 月曜日 | getsuyōbi | Moon 月 |
| Tuesday | 火曜日 | kayōbi | Fire 火 |
| Wednesday | 水曜日 | suiyōbi | Water 水 |
| Thursday | 木曜日 | mokuyōbi | Wood 木 |
| Friday | 金曜日 | kin'yōbi | Metal 金 |
| Saturday | 土曜日 | doyōbi | Earth 土 |
| Sunday | 日曜日 | nichiyōbi | Sun 日 |
Months in Japanese
Months are formed very simply: number + 月 (gatsu). January — 一月 (ichigatsu), February — 二月 (nigatsu), March — 三月 (sangatsu), and so on up to 十二月 (December). You only need to remember three reading exceptions: 四月 (April) — shigatsu, 七月 (July) — shichigatsu, 九月 (September) — kugatsu.
Why days are named after elements
The system comes from Chinese astrology: 月曜日 is the day of the Moon, 火曜日 — Fire (Mars), 水曜日 — Water (Mercury), and so on through the planets. It's easier to remember this way: the kanji itself hints at the day.
Dates: what day is it today
Dates of the month are number + 日 (nichi), but the first ten days are read specially: 1st — ついたち (tsuitachi), 2nd — ふつか (futsuka), 3rd — みっか (mikka), 4th — よっか (yokka), and so on. From the 11th onward, they are usually read as regular number + 日. These 'special' days are memorized separately — they appear often.
How dates of the month are called
The first ten days are read in a special way (1st — ついたち, 2nd — ふつか, 3rd — みっか), and from the 11th onward the regular counting with ～日 is used. This is the only place in dates where you have to memorize a list.
FAQ
- Why are days of the week named after elements?
- The Japanese system comes from Chinese cosmology of the 'five elements' plus the Sun and Moon: 月 (Moon) — Monday, 火 (Fire) — Tuesday, 水 (Water) — Wednesday, etc. Knowing the element kanji makes it easy to remember all seven days.
- Is it hard to learn months in Japanese?
- No, it's the easiest: a month is just a number + 月. You only need to know numbers 1–12 and three reading exceptions (April, July, September).
- How to ask what day of the week it is today?
- 今日は何曜日ですか (kyō wa nan'yōbi des ka) — 'What day of the week is it today?'. 何曜日 (nan'yōbi) means 'what day of the week'.
- Why are dates of the month read specially?
- The first ten days (ついたち, ふつか, みっか…) preserve the old Japanese counting. They are learned separately, and from the 11th onward they are usually read as number + 日.
Updated: 2026-06-25