PODCAST EP_14
![How do you say Days and Times in Japanese? [A1/JLPTn5-n4]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a40ec0_8f6c5de0fea2454bb48fbaf0a48007c0~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_980,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/a40ec0_8f6c5de0fea2454bb48fbaf0a48007c0~mv2.jpg)
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/how-do-you-say-dates-and-times-in-japanese/id1750242784?i=1000671859414&l=en-GB
Today, we are going to learn about dates and times.
How do you say the dates in Japanese?
For example, October 15th, 2024
We say: 2024NEN 10Gatsu 15Nichi
In Japan, we say YEAR first, and MONTH, and DAY
二千二十四年 means 2024, and NEN is the counterword for YEARS.
How do you say year 2025?
2025NEN
How about year 1990？
1990NEN
1995?
2020?
Before you learn the dates and times, I recommend you listen to my last episode, where you can learn numbers.
Do you know how to say these three words in Japanese: last year, this year, and next year?
Last year: Kyo ne n
This year: Ko to shi
Next year: Lai ne n
Then, let’s learn MONTHS, which is really easy because we use numbers.
January=1Gatsu
February=2Gatsu
March=3Gatsu
April=4Gatsu
May=5Gatsu
June=6Gatsu
July=7Gatsu
August=8Gatsu
September=9Gatsu
October=10Gatsu
November=11Gatsu
December=12Gatsu
GATSU is the counterword for months.
We have three exceptions: April, July, and September
April, we have to say SHI Gatsu, not YON Gatsu.
July, we have to say SHI CHI Gatsu, not NANA Gatsu.
September, we have to say KU Gatsu, not KYUU Gatsu.
Do you know how to say these three words in Japanese: last month, this month, and next month?
Last month: Sen Getsu
This month: Kon Getsu
Next month: Lai Getsu
Next, we are going to learn about days.
The counterword for days is NI CHI.
For example, the 15th=15日 15 Nichi
How do you say the 16th?
16日
the 17th? １７日
the 18th? １８日
the 21st? ２１日
I have some bad news for you. Unfortunately, from the 1st to the 10th, 14th, 20th, and 24th, we
have to apply old Japanese words for these 13 days. So, it is different from the usual numbers of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Let’s learn them!
the 1st= Tsu I ta chi
the 2nd= Hu tsu ka
the 3rd= Mi kka
the 4th= Yo Kka
the 5th= I tsu ka
the 6th= Mu I ka
the 7th= Na no ka
the 8th= Yo u ka
the 9th = Ko ko no ka
the 10th= To o ka
For the days with 4, the 4th, the 14th, and the 24th, we always have to say YOKKA.
So, how about the 14th? =Juu Yo Kka
How do you say the 24th? = Ni Juu Yo Kka
For the 20th, we also have to apply an old Japanese word: =Ha tsu kA
Could you repeat after me?
Tsu I ta chi
Hu tsu ka
Mikka
Yokka
Itsuka
Muika
Nanoka
Youka
Kokonoka
Tooka
Jyuu yokka
2 Juuyokka
Hatsuko
For 7 of the 17th and the 27th, we have to say Shichi, not NANA.
So, the 17th is Jyuushichi NICHI,
How do you say the 27th?
27Nitchi
For 9 of the 19th and the 29th, we have to say KU, not QU
How do you say the 19th?
19Nichi
How do you say the 29th?
29 Nichi
Let’s practice how to say from July 1st to 31st, 2025.
For JULY, we have to say Shi chi Gatsu, not NaNA Gatsu, OK?
the 1st: ２０２５年７月１日
the 2nd:２０２５年７月2日
the 3rd: ７月３日・・・
Do you know how to say these five words in Japanese: the day before yesterday, yesterday, today,
tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow?
The day before yesterday: O to to i
Yesterday: Ki no u
Today: Kyo u
Tomorrow: A shi ta
The day after tomorrow: A sa tte
Do you know how to say BIRTHDAY in Japanese?
BD= O tan jou bi おたんじょうび
How do you ask people, “When is your BD?”
おたんじょうびは 何月 何日 ですか。 Otanjoubi wa NAN+GATSU NAN+NICHI desu KA.
NAN itself means WHAT, and in typical Japanese, we create question sentences with NAN + A
COUNTERWORD. NAN+Gatsu= Which Month, NAN+Nichi=Which Day
Gatsu is a counterword for months, and NICHI is a counterword for days.
Otanjyoubi wa NAN+Gatsu NAN+Nichi desu ka.
Otanjyoubi WA: WA is the topic marker. Wa marks the topic of the sentence. OTANJYOUBI WA
means, “Let’s talk about your BD.”
KA at the end of the sentence is the QUESTION MARKER.
お誕生日は何月何日ですか。Otanjoubi wa NAN+Gatsu NAN+Nichi desu ka.
お誕生日は５月１５日です。Otanjoubi wa 5+Gatsu 15+Nichi desu. It means,” My BD is May 15th .”
How do you ask, “What’s today’s date?”
Today is KYOU.
Let’s talk about KYOU: KYOU wa NAN+Gatsu NAN+Nichi desu ka.
今日は何月何日ですか。 Kyou wa NAN+Gatsu NAN=Nichi desu ka.
今日は１０月１５日です。Kyou wa 10+Gatsu 15+Nichi desu.
Today’s date is October 15th.
The next thing you can learn in this episode is the days of the week.
Monday= Getsu YOUBI
Tuesday= Ka YOUBI
Wednesday= Sui YOUBi
Thursday= Moku YOUBI
Friday= Kin YOUBI
Saturday= Do YOUBI
Sunday= Nichi YOUBI
Did you notice that the endings are always the same? YOUBI is the counterword for the DAYS of the week.
So, how do you ask people, “What day is today? ”
We have to place the topic and the topic maker at the beginning of the sentence and use NAN+a counterword.
Kyou wa NAN+YOUBI desu ka.きょうは何曜日ですか。What day is today?
Kyou wa KaYOUBI desu. Today is Tuesday.
The last thing you can learn in this episode is time.
1 o’clock= 1 Ji
2o’clock= 2 Ji
3o’clock= 3 Ji
4o’clock= 4 Ji: YO Ji
5o’clock= 5 Ji
6o’clock= 6 Ji
7o’clock= 7 Ji: Shi Chi Ji
8o’clock= 8 Ji
9o’clock= 9 Ji: Ku Ji
10o’clock= 10 Ji
11o’clock= 11 Ji
12o’clock= 12 Ji
Did you recognize the counterword of o’clock?
It’s Ji
We have three exceptions:
4o’clock=We have to say YO Ji
7o’clock= We have to say 7 Ji: Shi Chi Ji
9o’clock= We have to say 9 Ji: Ku Ji
In Japan, we use from 1 to 12 o'clock and again from 1 to 12. Therefore, we need to use AM and PM.
AM is Go ze n/ ごぜん
PM is Go go/ ごご
For example, we say 3 AM in Japanese, “GOZEN 3JI.” Unlike the English, we have to say AM/PM first, then the time.
How do you say 3 PM?
GOGO 3ji.
How about 3:30 PM?
We say, “Gogo 3Ji HAN.” HAN means “half”. Half past 3?
How about “Half past 4”?
4 JI Han
How about “Half past 7”?
7 JI Han, not NANA ji.
How about “Half past 9”?
9 JI Han, not QUji.
We don’t use the expression A QUATER.
Do you know how to say “ A quarter past 9” in Japanese?
9 JI 15 HUN/ ９時15分
Hun is the counterword of Minutes.
How do you say, “A quarter to 10”?
9 JI 45 HUN/ ９時４５分
So, let’s learn MINUTES.
With 2,5,7, and 9 at the end, we have to say the counterword, HUN.
For example:
12 minutes is 12分
How about 22 minutes?
22分
25 minutes is 25分
How about 35 minutes?
35分
47 minutes is 47分
How about 17 minutes?
17分
19 minutes is 19分
How about 29 minutes?
29分
We have to say PUN for the rest of the numbers:
1 minute: Not 1 PUN, but we have to say IPPUN
3 minutes: 3PUN
4 minutes: 4PUN
6 minutes: Not 6 PUN, but we have to say LOPPUN
8 minutes: Not 8 PUN, but we have to say HAPPUN
10 minutes: We have to say JUPPUN.
So, how do you say 20 minutes?
20PUN
How do you say 40 minutes?
40PUN
How do you say 3:20 AM?
Gozen 3 JI 20 PUN
How do you say A quarter to 5 PM? 4:45 PM?
Gogo 4 JI 45 HUN.
How do you say half past 7?
7 Ji HAN or 7 Ji 30PUN.
How do you ask people, “What time is it?”
We use the structure NAN+a counterword.
NAN+Ji desu ka. 何時ですか。
Or Ima NAN+ji desu ka. 今何時ですか。Ima means NOW. What time is it now?
Today, we learned a lot of vocabulary about dates and times. I hope you enjoyed it!
Thank you for listening!
ありがとうございました。
This episode is for Japanese A1=N5/N4 learners.
Don't only listen to the audio, repeat what you hear while listening! Move your mouth!
Nanami Yoshihara
Hi! I'm Nanami. I'm a Japanese teacher and run this website.
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