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Lesson 31 of 240

New here? This is lesson 31 of a free 240-lesson Japanese course.

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Days of the week in Japanese

Leo sits down at Kissa Hotaru on a quiet Yanaka morning. He needs the day of the week before he plans his errands.

Goro says Friday without looking up. The wall calendar still shows last week's Tuesday, and Masako has to settle it.

By the end, you can ask the day, name today, tomorrow, and yesterday, and say you are off at the weekend.

Keep these short weekday lines handy for everyday plans.

By the end of this lesson

Ask the day and name weekdays, tomorrow, yesterday, and the weekend.

  • 今日(きょう)は何曜(なんよう)日(ひ)ですか。What day is it today?
  • 月曜日(げつようび)です。It's Monday.
  • 金曜日(きんようび)です。It's Friday.
  • 明日(あした)は火曜日(かようび)です。Tomorrow is Tuesday.
  • 昨日(きのう)は日曜日(にちようび)でした。Yesterday was Sunday.
  • 週末(しゅうまつ)は休(やす)みです。I'm off at the weekend.

Scene — the wall calendar

A weekday morning in Yanaka. Leo hangs his clear umbrella and takes a seat at the kissa counter. Masako wipes a cup.

Goro occupies two seats in the corner booth. His blend coffee is still full. On the wall, a paper calendar still shows last week's Tuesday.

Leo hangs his clear umbrella and takes a seat at the counter while Masako wipes a cup and Goro occupies the corner booth beside his full coffee.

Learn — today and the week

Six short lines cover today, tomorrow, yesterday, and the days of the week.

You also get a line for the weekend, so you can say when you are off.

  1. Leo turns toward the wall calendar with one hand raised in a questioning gesture.

    今日(きょう)は何曜(なんよう)日(ひ)ですか。

    What day is it today?

    When to use it: Ask this when you need the weekday.

    Learn it as one piece for asking the day of the week.

    Say it: Give ん before よ its own beat.

  2. Masako gives Leo a brief confirming nod while holding the wiped cup.

    月曜日(げつようび)です。

    It's Monday.

    When to use it: Say this when the day is Monday.

    Learn it as one piece for Monday.

    Say it: The u in です is almost silent.

  3. Goro sits across the paired corner-booth seats beside his untouched full coffee.

    金曜日(きんようび)です。

    It's Friday.

    When to use it: Say this when the day is Friday.

    Learn it as one piece for Friday.

    Say it: The u in です is almost silent.

  4. Masako points toward the paper calendar on the wall.

    明日(あした)は火曜日(かようび)です。

    Tomorrow is Tuesday.

    When to use it: Say this to name tomorrow as Tuesday.

    Learn it as one piece for tomorrow's day.

  5. Leo counts on his fingers while looking toward the sunlit window.

    昨日(きのう)は日曜日(にちようび)でした。

    Yesterday was Sunday.

    When to use it: Say this when yesterday was Sunday.

    Learn it as one piece for yesterday's day.

  6. Masako rests both palms on the counter and looks toward Leo near the bright window.

    週末(しゅうまつ)は休(やす)みです。

    I'm off at the weekend.

    When to use it: Say this when you do not work on Saturday or Sunday.

    Learn it as one piece for a free weekend.

Story — Friday or Tuesday

Watch Leo ask the day at Kissa Hotaru. Goro answers Friday, but the wall calendar still shows last week's Tuesday.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Morning light hits the old kissa wall. A paper calendar still shows last week's Tuesday.
  2. Leoおはようございます。Good morning.
  3. Masakoおはようございます。Good morning.
  4. Leo今日(きょう)は何曜(なんよう)日(ひ)ですか。What day is it today?
  5. Goro金曜日(きんようび)です。It's Friday.
  6. Masako glances at the wall. The calendar is out of date and still shows last week's Tuesday.
  7. Masako月曜日(げつようび)です。It's Monday.
  8. Leo明日(あした)は火曜日(かようび)です。Tomorrow is Tuesday.
  9. Masako昨日(きのう)は日曜日(にちようび)でした。Yesterday was Sunday.
  10. Goro休(やす)みはいつですか。When are you off?
  11. Leo週末(しゅうまつ)は休(やす)みです。I'm off at the weekend.
  12. Goro nods at his toast. His blend coffee is still full.

Practice — name the day

Eleven quick exercises wait here. You will listen, pick, match, fill a gap, and build a line.

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    Japanese

    月曜日(げつようび)です。Drop the English here
    金曜日(きんようび)です。Drop the English here
    明日(あした)は火曜日(かようび)です。Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Japanese, or tap one and then the other.

  3. What do you say?

    You already said good morning. Ask Masako what day it is today.

  4. Fill the gap

    What day is it today?

    今日(きょう)は何曜(なんよう)日(ひ)です____。

  5. What does it mean?

    昨日(きのう)は日曜日(にちようび)でした。

  6. Swap the word

    Tomorrow is Tuesday, not Friday. Fix the day.

    明日(あした)は____です。

  7. Build the line

    I'm off at the weekend.

    。

    Tap the words in order.

  8. Pick the reply

    Masako says:

    今日(きょう)は月曜日(げつようび)ですか。

    Is it Monday today?

    And you reply with:

  9. Find the mistake

  10. What do you say?

    Greet Masako. It is eight in the morning at Kissa Hotaru and she looks up from the counter.

  11. True or false?

    This asks what day of the week it is.

Say it — say the day

Now you're Leo at the counter, trying to pin down the day. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap play first if you want to hear it. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. Masakoおはようございます。Good morning.
  2. Leo (you)Ask what day it is today.

    今日(きょう)は何曜(なんよう)日(ひ)ですか。

    What day is it today?

0 of 4 said

Recap — what you can say now

JapaneseEnglish
今日(きょう)は何曜(なんよう)日(ひ)ですか。What day is it today?
月曜日(げつようび)です。It's Monday.
金曜日(きんようび)です。It's Friday.
明日(あした)は火曜日(かようび)です。Tomorrow is Tuesday.
昨日(きのう)は日曜日(にちようび)でした。Yesterday was Sunday.
週末(しゅうまつ)は休(やす)みです。I'm off at the weekend.
Next: lesson 32Where shall we meet

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want to keep these weekdays handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps the weekdays ready for the next morning at the kissa.

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