Beginner Japanese · Lesson 9
Japanese Weekdays and Month Expressions
Talk simply about today, tomorrow, weekdays, and months with familiar statement and question patterns.
Japanese first
Start with today in a useful sentence
Read the complete Japanese once. The statement pattern is familiar; the day words are the new part.
Today and a weekday
Reading: きょうはげつようびです。
Meet 今日 and 明日
Keep these two complete words together. This lesson uses one beginner reading for each.
New word
今日
today
Use the frozen beginner reading きょう for “today.”
New word
明日
tomorrow
Use the frozen beginner reading あした for “tomorrow.”
Two nearby ideas
Keep 今 and 今日 in their lesson contexts
In the clock lesson, 今 helped point to “now.” Here,今日 identifies “today.” That small contrast is enough for now.
Monday through Sunday
Read the seven weekdays as whole words
The first Kanji changes from day to day, while 曜日（ようび）stays visible. Learn each complete weekday rather than treating one Kanji reading as a universal rule.
New word
月曜日
Reading: げつようび
Monday
New word
火曜日
Reading: かようび
Tuesday
New word
水曜日
Reading: すいようび
Wednesday
New word
木曜日
Reading: もくようび
Thursday
New word
金曜日
Reading: きんようび
Friday
New word
土曜日
Reading: どようび
Saturday
New word
日曜日
Reading: にちようび
Sunday
The opening Kanji 月・火・水・木・金・土・日 are familiar beginner Kanji, but the target here is the complete weekday word.
Weekday reading sequence
Reading: かようび、すいようび、もくようび、きんようび
Ask with 何曜日
This is one complete question expression. The known ～ですか ending does the question work.
New word
何曜日
what day of the week
In this complete expression, 何 is read なん.
One useful question
Use 明日は何曜日ですか
Inside 何曜日, 何 is readなん. Keep the whole readingなんようび intact.
Ask about tomorrow
Reading: あしたはなんようびですか。
Check your recall
Recall day words and weekdays
Try each prompt before opening the answer.
今日／明日Which word means “tomorrow”?
Show the answer
明日／あしたThe first word means today; the second means tomorrow.
木曜日Retrieve this weekday reading and meaning.
Show the reading and meaning
木曜日／もくようびThursday.
Rebuild the short question “What day of the week is it?”
Show the question
何曜日ですか。／なんようびですか。Use the contextual reading shown above inside the complete weekday question word.
今日は月曜日です。Read the sentence, then identify the weekday.
Show the reading and answer
きょうはげつようびです。Today is Monday.
Meet ～月 as the month family
This single New vocabulary identity supports the twelve checked whole month forms below.
New word
～月
month-of-the-year counter
Learn each displayed month as a checked whole form, not as a generated number reading.
January through December
Read twelve checked month forms
Use the checked calendar form you are learning instead of automatically attachingがつ to a bare number reading. The Arabic number is only a quick reference; the Japanese and Kana are the forms to notice.
Month 1
一月
Reading: いちがつ
January
Month 2
二月
Reading: にがつ
February
Month 3
三月
Reading: さんがつ
March
Month 4
四月
Reading: しがつ
April
Checked reading
Month 5
五月
Reading: ごがつ
May
Month 6
六月
Reading: ろくがつ
June
Month 7
七月
Reading: しちがつ
July
Checked reading
Month 8
八月
Reading: はちがつ
August
Month 9
九月
Reading: くがつ
September
Checked reading
Month 10
十月
Reading: じゅうがつ
October
Month 11
十一月
Reading: じゅういちがつ
November
Month 12
十二月
Reading: じゅうにがつ
December
Three forms to notice
Keep April, July, and September intact
- 四月
- Reading: しがつ
- 七月
- Reading: しちがつ
- 九月
- Reading: くがつ
These do not use the Lesson 7 primary bare readingsよん・なな・きゅう. Learn the calendar forms above as complete expressions.
A familiar sentence frame
Use 今は四月です
The familiar topic and polite statement pattern lets one New month form do the useful work. No date-of-the-month reading is needed.
A simple month statement
Reading: いまはしがつです。
月曜日（げつようび） means Monday, while the ending in四月（しがつ） marks a month expression. The same Kanji does not have one universal reading in every word.
Check your recall
Recall selected month forms
Try each prompt before opening the answer.
四月Retrieve the checked month reading.
Show the reading
四月／しがつApril.
七月Retrieve the checked month reading.
Show the reading
七月／しちがつJuly.
九月Retrieve the checked month reading.
Show the reading
九月／くがつSeptember.
月曜日／四月Which expression is a weekday, and which is a month?
Show the distinction
月曜日／げつようび 四月／しがつThe first expression is Monday; the second is April.
Optional Kanji practice
Keep time and date Kanji moving
The weekday openings and month numbers reinforce familiar beginner Kanji. For a separate recognition pass, use the existing Time and Date Kanji lesson. It is parallel practice, not a prerequisite or a full date lesson here.
Keep the calendar expression whole
- 今日（きょう） is today; 明日（あした） is tomorrow.
- Read each weekday as one complete ～曜日 word.
- 何曜日 is read なんようび.
- The twelve ～月 forms are one checked month family, not twelve new vocabulary IDs.
- This lesson stops before days of the month, years, and action schedules.