Japanese - Daily Routine

Lesson 61 of 168

A cozy morning scene showing a person making coffee and checking their phone with Japanese text about daily routine.

Goal: Talk about times, meals, and evening habits

Free Japanese lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Welcome! This short lesson helps you talk about your daily routine — times, breakfast, what you like to do at night, and how long you spend on activities. Repeat the phrases, listen to the mini-dialogue, then practice with quick quizzes.

Level A2: In this lesson you will practice useful phrases to describe your daily routine — when you wake up and sleep, what you eat for breakfast, how you start the day, how long you spend on activities, and days when your schedule changes. CEFR-aligned and ready to use in real life — a tiny bit of Yak Yacker to keep things friendly!

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Learn simple, polite frames to say when you wake up, go to bed, and get home.
  • Say what you eat for breakfast and how you start your day (e.g., 一日をコーヒーから始めます (ichinichi o kōhī kara hajimemasu) ).
  • Talk about how much time you spend on activities and nights you like certain hobbies.
  • Use a phrase to explain when your schedule is different (e.g., 週末は予定が違います (shūmatsu wa yotei ga chigaimasu) ).
A small apartment kitchen with breakfast on the table and a clock — the image ties to Japanese daily routine phrases.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

___ごろ家に帰ります。

___ goro ie ni kaerimasu.

I get back home around ___.

Meaning: I get back home around ___.

When to use: Put a time before ごろ (e.g., 6時ごろ) to say approximately when you return home. 家に帰ります means to go/get back home.

Tip: Don't add に after ごろ (say 6時ごろ, not 6時ごろに).

6時ごろ家に帰ります。

roku-ji goro ie ni kaerimasu.

I get back home around 6:00.
仕事のあと、たいてい8時ごろ家に帰ります。

shigoto no ato, taitei hachi-ji goro ie ni kaerimasu.

After work I usually get home around 8:00.

一日を___から始めます。

ichinichi o ___ kara hajimemasu.

I start my day with ___.

Meaning: I start my day with ___.

When to use: Use this to describe the first thing you do each day. Put a noun or activity where the blank is. For a verb activity, use dictionary form + こと (e.g., 走ることから).

一日をコーヒーから始めます。

ichinichi o kōhī kara hajimemasu.

I start my day with coffee.
一日をストレッチから始めます。

ichinichi o sutoretchi kara hajimemasu.

I start my day with stretches.

朝ごはんに___を食べます。

asagohan ni ___ o tabemasu.

I have ___ for breakfast.

Meaning: I have ___ for breakfast.

When to use: Use を before 食べます for foods (朝ごはんに___を食べます). For drinks use 飲みます or say 朝ごはんは___です for simple answers.

Tip: Don't use が with 食べます here (朝ごはんに納豆が食べます is incorrect).

朝ごはんにパンを食べます。

asagohan ni pan o tabemasu.

I eat bread for breakfast.
朝ごはんに納豆を食べます。

asagohan ni nattō o tabemasu.

I eat natto for breakfast.

___ぐらい、___に時間を使います。

___ gurai, ___ ni jikan o tsukaimasu.

I spend about ___ on ___.

Meaning: I spend about ___ on ___.

When to use: Put a length of time first (e.g., 30分ぐらい), then the activity with に (e.g., 勉強に時間を使います). For verbs, say するのに after the verb stem (e.g., 勉強するのに).

30分ぐらい、勉強に時間を使います。

sanjūppun gurai, benkyō ni jikan o tsukaimasu.

I spend about 30 minutes studying.
一時間ぐらい、運動に時間を使います。

ichi-jikan gurai, undō ni jikan o tsukaimasu.

I spend about an hour exercising.

夜は___のが好きです。

yoru wa ___ no ga suki desu.

At night, I like to ___.

Meaning: At night, I like to ___.

When to use: Use 夜は___のが好きです with a verb in dictionary form (e.g., 本を読むのが好きです) or a noun + する (e.g., 散歩するのが好きです).

夜は本を読むのが好きです。

yoru wa hon o yomu no ga suki desu.

At night, I like to read books.
夜は散歩するのが好きです。

yoru wa sanpo suru no ga suki desu.

At night, I like to take walks.

___は予定が違います。

___ wa yotei ga chigaimasu.

My schedule changes on ___.

Meaning: My schedule changes on ___.

When to use: Use a day or period + は before this phrase (e.g., 週末は予定が違います). It explains that the plan is different from usual on that day.

週末は予定が違います。

shūmatsu wa yotei ga chigaimasu.

My schedule is different on weekends.
月曜日は予定が違います。

getsuyōbi wa yotei ga chigaimasu.

My schedule is different on Mondays.

___ごろ起きます。

___ goro okimasu.

I wake up around ___.

Meaning: I wake up around ___.

When to use: Put a time before ごろ (e.g., 7時ごろ) to say approximately when you wake up. 起きます means to wake/get up.

7時ごろ起きます。

shichi-ji goro okimasu.

I wake up around 7:00.
平日は6時ごろ起きます。

heijitsu wa roku-ji goro okimasu.

On weekdays I wake up around 6:00.

___ごろ寝ます。

___ goro nemasu.

I go to bed around ___.

Meaning: I go to bed around ___.

When to use: Put a time before ごろ (e.g., 11時). Note you usually don't add に after ごろ (say 11時ごろ寝ます).

Tip: Don't add に after ごろ (say 11時ごろ寝ます, not 11時ごろに寝ます).

11時ごろ寝ます。

jū-ichi-ji goro nemasu.

I go to bed around 11:00.
週末は12時ごろ寝ます。

shūmatsu wa jū-ni-ji goro nemasu.

On weekends I go to bed around midnight.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna asks David about his morning and evening routine.

Two friends (Anna and David) talking in a living room about wake-up time, breakfast, and bedtime with visible Japanese phrases.

What time does David usually wake up?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

おはよう、デイビッド。何時ごろ起きますか？

ohayō, Deibiddo. nanji goro okimasu ka?

Good morning, David. Around what time do you wake up?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

平日は6時ごろ起きます。朝ごはんにパンを食べます。

heijitsu wa roku-ji goro okimasu. asagohan ni pan o tabemasu.

On weekdays I wake up around 6. I eat bread for breakfast.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

一日を何から始めますか？

ichinichi o nani kara hajimemasu ka?

What do you start your day with?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

一日をコーヒーから始めます。仕事のあと、30分ぐらい勉強に時間を使います。

ichinichi o kōhī kara hajimemasu. shigoto no ato, sanjūppun gurai benkyō ni jikan o tsukaimasu.

I start my day with coffee. After work I spend about 30 minutes studying.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

夜は何が好きですか？

yoru wa nani ga suki desu ka?

What do you like to do at night?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

夜は本を読むのが好きです。11時ごろ寝ます。週末は予定が違います。

yoru wa hon o yomu no ga suki desu. jū-ichi-ji goro nemasu. shūmatsu wa yotei ga chigaimasu.

At night I like to read. I go to bed around 11. My schedule is different on weekends.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which sentence means "I get back home around 6:00."?

Which sentence says "I start my day with coffee."?

Which sentence correctly says "I eat natto for breakfast."?

Which sentence means "My schedule is different on weekends."?

After work I usually get home around 6:00.

仕事のあと、だいたい___ごろ家に帰ります。

In the morning I always start my day with coffee.

朝はいつも一日を___から始めます。

At night I like reading books, and I go to bed around 11.

夜は___のが好きで、11時ごろ寝ます。

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ごろ家に帰ります。

___ goro ie ni kaerimasu.

I get back home around ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

一日を___から始めます。

ichinichi o ___ kara hajimemasu.

I start my day with ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

朝ごはんに___を食べます。

asagohan ni ___ o tabemasu.

I have ___ for breakfast.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ぐらい、___に時間を使います。

___ gurai, ___ ni jikan o tsukaimasu.

I spend about ___ on ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

夜は___のが好きです。

yoru wa ___ no ga suki desu.

At night, I like to ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___は予定が違います。

___ wa yotei ga chigaimasu.

My schedule changes on ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ごろ起きます。

___ goro okimasu.

I wake up around ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

___ごろ寝ます。

___ goro nemasu.

I go to bed around ___.