Days of the Week in Japanese — Complete Guide with Kanji

Japanese days of the week follow the classical element system: 月 (moon), 火 (fire), 水 (water), 木 (wood), 金 (gold), 土 (earth), 日 (sun). Each day ends with ようび (youbi). This system is shared with other East Asian languages. Learning the days also teaches you seven important kanji characters.

Key Vocabulary

Example Sentences

• きょう は なんようび ですか
  kyou wa nanyoubi desu ka
  What day is today?
• きんようび に いきます
  kinyoubi ni ikimasu
  I will go on Friday
• まいしゅう げつようび
  maishuu getsuyoubi
  every Monday
• どようび と にちようび は やすみ です
  doyoubi to nichiyoubi wa yasumi desu
  Saturday and Sunday are holidays

Study Tips

• 1Each day is named after a natural element: moon, fire, water, wood, gold, earth, sun
• 2ようび (youbi) means 'day of the week' — it's the suffix for all days
• 3Use に after days to mean 'on (that day)': げつようび に = on Monday
• 4きょう (today), あした (tomorrow), きのう (yesterday) are also essential