How To Say The Months And Days Of The Week In Japanese

Do you know what month it is right now? Do you also happen to know what day it is today?

Whatever month and day it is today, happy birthday! Even if today isn’t your birthday, it is still important to know how to tell the month and day of the week, because there’s always something special going on each month in Japan. January is associated with the Japanese New Year, March with Hinamatsuri, and July with the Obon Festival.

BTW, you can read about these different Japanese festivals with Beelinguapp while learning a new language. Get it now on Google Play or the App Store.

The way the days of the week are written in Japanese is not as scary as Sadako. The days of the week vocabulary are all named after the elements of nature and they end in the word -youbi, pronounced as yoh-bee.

How To Write The Months

In order to write the months in Japanese, you must first write the number (1–12) corresponding to the month, and then the word -gatsu 月.

• January: １月 (ichi-gatsu)
• October: 10月 (jū-gatsu)
• December: 12月 (jūni-gatsu)

How To Write The Days of the Week

The Japanese week begins on Sunday and each day ends with the word -youbi 曜日.

Writing tip: The first kanji is often used alone as a shorthand for the day.

• Sunday: 日 (Hi / Sun)
• Monday: 月 (Tsuki / Moon)