Whether you’re setting up a lunch with friends, booking a hotel, or scheduling a work meeting, knowing how to talk about days and months in Japanese is essential. In Japan, where punctuality is practically an art form, getting the date right is expected. So, how do you say dates and months correctly?
Keep reading to learn how to express exact dates from months and dates. By the end, you will be able to look at a calendar and make plans in Japanese completely hassle-free.
Basics of Counting in Japanese
First, in order to tell the dates in Japanese, you would need to understand Japanese numbers. This is especially true since counting in Japanese has different rules and conjugations depending on what the object is. Months and days happen to be one of those things!
So, before we dig into how to say months and dates in Japanese, we need to understand the fundamentals of the Japanese counting system. There are two main number systems in Japanese: Sino-Japanese (漢語, or kango) and Native Japanese (和語, or wago).
The basic numbers in Japanese — for example, ichi, ni, san, shi, go, and so on — are the Sino-Japanese reading for numbers originating from China. But numbers can change drastically when you’re counting different things. Often, native Japanese numbers are used instead—for example, with the counter for general objects: hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu.
Below is a table showing the difference between Sino-Japanese (漢語) and Native Japanese (和語) numbers from 1 through 10:
| Number | Wago (Native Japanese) | Kango (Sino-Japanese) |
| 1 | ひとつ (hitotsu) | いち (ichi) |
| 2 | ふたつ (futatsu) | に (ni) |
| 3 | みっつ (mittsu) | さん (san) |
| 4 | よっつ (yottsu) | し (shi) / よん (yon) |
| 5 | いつつ (itsutsu) | ご (go) |
| 6 | むっつ (muttsu) | ろく (roku) |
| 7 | ななつ (nanatsu) | しち (shichi) / なな (nana) |
| 8 | やっつ (yattsu) | はち (hachi) |
| 9 | ここのつ (kokonotsu) | きゅう (kyuu) / く (ku) |
| 10 | とお (too) | じゅう (juu) |
Generally speaking, anything that can be counted numerically will use some variation or conjugation of native Japanese or Sino-Japanese numbers. You will see that for months and dates, this will very much be the case.
Months in Japanese
Japanese months are refreshingly straightforward. They’re simply numbers 1 through 12 followed by 月 (gatsu), the counter for months. These use the Sino-Japanese number system, which is just the standard set of Japanese numbers. One thing to note: the character 月 can also be read as tsuki, meaning “moon.”
Here is a breakdown of how to say months in Japanese:
Corresponding number of the month + 月 (gatsu)
For example, to say January, you would add the number 1 and add “gatsu” at the end.
1月
いちがつ
ichi gatsu
Take a look at the infographic below on how to say and write each month of the year in Japanese!
Keep in mind, while the numbers 4 and 7 both have two different readings, only one is used for months in Japanese.
- April: し(shi) is used instead of よん(yon). It will be しがつ (shigatsu)
- July: しち (shichi) is used instead of なな (nana). It will be しちがつ (shichigatsu)
How to ask about months in Japanese
To ask “What month is it?” in Japanese, you simply combine the word for “what” (何 nani) with 月 (gatsu). When putting them together, drop the “i” in nani, so it becomes nan-gatsu.
何月ですか？
なんがつですか？
nangatsu desuka
Japanese questions can be a bit tough to learn, so make sure to read our blog on how to use what, when, why, where, and how in Japanese.
Days of the month in Japanese
The months in Japanese are pretty straightforward, right? It might even be easier than learning how to say the months in English.
But the days of the month can get a little tricky. Just like in English, different days have their own unique pronunciations in Japanese, like the first, second, third, fourth, and so on.
In Japanese, to write each day of the month, you just write the number and add 日 (nichi). While the writing is the same, the first 10 days of the month are actually pronounced ka rather than nichi, and each is pronounced quite differently from the standard numbers. This is because it uses the Native Japanese number system instead of the Sino-Japanese numbers.
| Day | Japanese | Hiragana | Romaji |
| 1st | 一日 | ついたち | tsuitachi |
| 2nd | 二日 | ふつか | futsuka |
| 3rd | 三日 | みっか | mikka |
| 4th | 四日 | よっか | yokka |
| 5th | 五日 | いつか | itsuka |
| 6th | 六日 | むいか | muika |
| 7th | 七日 | なのか | nanoka |
| 8th | 八日 | ようか | youka |
| 9th | 九日 | ここのか | kokonoka |
| 10th | 十日 | とうか | touka |
Starting from the 10th day of the month, the conjugation becomes a lot easier with the counter 日 (nichi) just attached to the number: number + 日 (nichi). Please refer to the table below for how to say days of the month from 1st to the 31st.
| Day | Japanese | Hiragana | Romaji |
| 11th | 十一日 | じゅういちにち | juuichi nichi |
| 12th | 十二日 | じゅうににち | juuni nichi |
| 13th | 十三日 | じゅうさんにち | juusan nichi |
| 14th | 十四日 | じゅうよっか | juuyokka |
| 15th | 十五日 | じゅうごにち | juugo nichi |
| 16th | 十六日 | じゅうろくにち | juuroku nichi |
| 17th | 十七日 | じゅうしちにち | juushichi nichi |
| 18th | 十八日 | じゅうはちにち | juuhachi nichi |
| 19th | 十九日 | じゅうくにち | juuku nichi |
| 20th | 二十日 | はつか | hatsuka |
| 21st | 二十一日 | にじゅういちにち | nijuuichi nichi |
| 22nd | 二十二日 | にじゅうににち | nijuuni nichi |
| 23rd | 二十三日 | にじゅうさんにち | nijuusan nichi |
| 24th | 二十四日 | にじゅうよっか | nijuuyokka |
| 25th | 二十五日 | にじゅうごにち | nijuugo nichi |
| 26th | 二十六日 | にじゅうろくにち | nijuuroku nichi |
| 27th | 二十七日 | にじゅうしちにち | nijuushichi nichi |
| 28th | 二十八日 | にじゅうはちにち | nijuuhachi nichi |
| 29th | 二十九日 | にじゅうくにち | nijuuku nichi |
| 30th | 三十日 | さんじゅうにち | sanjuu nichi |
| 31st | 三十一日 | さんじゅういちにち | sanjuuichi nichi |
Note that the 14th and 24th use the same special pronunciation. Instead of juuyon nichi and nijuuyon nichi, they will become juuyokka and nijuuyokka instead.
Keep in mind the 20th is also pronounced and read as はつか (hatsuka).
How to ask the date in Japanese
When asking for the date, you just add 何 (nani) to 日 (nichi), which translates to “what day (of the month)”:
何日ですか？
なんにちですか?
nannichi desuka?
Know which dates to mark as a holiday on your calendar? To find out, read our complete guide to national holidays in Japan.
Years in Japanese
Years in Japanese are very easy to say and write, too. All you have to do is add the word 年 (nen) after the number for the year.
However, do keep in mind that Japan does have a unique system for expressing the years based on the era the emperor has been in reign. This year is 令和7年 (reiwa nananen) since it has been 7 years since the current emperor has been in power.
Still, for the most part, Japan is quite accustomed to the Western year system. So, when saying dates like this year or your birthday, you can just use the Western years. Here is a breakdown of how to write and say year in Japanese:
Year + 年
For example:
2025年
にせんにじゅうごねん
nisen nijuu gonen
Putting it all together
Now let’s bring everything together to say the full date in Japanese. It is important to know how to do this, especially when asked to give your birth date for official purposes. One of the most common expressions you will come across is 生年月日 (seinengappi), which means birth date. Whether you’re stating your birth date or simply saying today’s date, here is a breakdown of how to say it in Japanese:
Year + 年, Month + 月, Day + 日
1999年1月9日
せんきゅうひゃくきゅうじゅうくねん いちがつ ここのか
Senkuuhyaku kuujuu kuunen ichigatsu kokonoka
Now, try to figure out how to say your own birthday by following the above format. Usually, when you need to provide your birth date in Japan, you should follow this order: year, month, and day.
Using months and days in Japan
So, now that you know how to express different days and months, how do we use them in sentences? Below, we have provided some sentences to help demonstrate different situations you could express the months and days.
1. 3月に日本へ行きます。
さんがつににほんへいきます。
Sangatsu ni nihon e ikimasu.
I will go to Japan in March.
2. 今日は一日です。
きょうはついたちです。
Kyou wa tsuitachi desu.
Today is the 1st.
3. 旅行は7月20日からです。
旅行はしちがつはつかからです。
Ryokou wa shichigatsu nijuuyokka kara desu.
The trip starts on July 24th.
4. 富士山のツアーを2025年4月10日にスケジュールしましょうか？
ふじやまのつあーをにせんにじゅうごねんしがつとおかにすけじゅーるしましょうか？
Fujiyama no tsuaa o nisennijuugonen shigatsu tooka ni sukejuuru shimashouka
Shall we schedule the tour of Mt. Fuji for April 10th, 2025?
Now that we know how to say the days and months, how can we express months and days in terms of past, present, and future tenses as well as frequency? Depending on the context, it is easier for our listeners to understand time frames in relative terms. For instance, you might want to say “I am coming to Japan next month”. So, here is how you can say months in different ways:
| English | Japanese | Furigana | Romaji |
| Last month | 先月 | せんげつ | sengetsu |
| This month | 今月 | こんげつ | kongetsu |
| Next Month | 来月 | らいげつ | raigetsu |
| Every Month | 毎月 | まいげつ | maigetsu |
For days, you may have come across how to say today, tomorrow, and yesterday. These are all essentially conjugations of 日 (nichi) or day. Below we provided a table of how to say different days in terms of different time frames and frequency:
| English | Japanese | Furigana | Romaji |
| Yesterday | 昨日 | きのう | kinou |
| Today | 今日 | きょう | kyou |
| Tomorrow | 明日 | あした | ashita |
| Day before yesterday | 一昨日 | おととい | ototoi |
| Day after tomorrow | 明後日 | あさって | asatte |
| Every day | 毎日 | まいにち | mainichi |
Expressing days and months as durations
When talking about time in Japanese, it’s not only important to know how to say specific dates but also how to express durations, or how long something lasts. They are essential for being more precise when talking about timelines and scheduling.
To discuss how many months or days is pretty straightforward since it still uses the month (number + 月) and day (number + 日) conjugations we learnt earlier.
For month durations
To express different durations of months in Japanese, you add か (ka) before 月(gatsu), to make the counter 〜ヶ月 (〜kagetsu). Note that gatsu becomes getsu when conjugating for month durations. Here is the general structure:
Number + ヶ月 (kagetsu)
Here is a table showing how month durations would be used for different numbers of months:
| English | Japanese | Furigana | Romaji |
| 1 month | 1ヶ月 | 1かがつ | ikkagetsu |
| 2 months | 2ヶ月 | 2かがつ | nikagetsu |
| 3 months | 3ヶ月 | 3かがつ | sankagetsu |
| 4 months | 4ヶ月 | 4かがつ | yonkagetsu |
| 5 months | 5ヶ月 | 5かがつ | gokagetsu |
| 6 months | 6ヶ月 | 6かがつ | rokkagetsu |
| 7 months | 7ヶ月 | 7かがつ | nanakagetsu |
| 8 months | 8ヶ月 | 8かがつ | hakkagetsu |
| 9 months | 9ヶ月 | 9かがつ | kyuukagetsu |
| 10 months | 10ヶ月 | 10かがつ | juukkagetsu |
| How many months? | 何ヶ月？ | なんかがつ | nankagetsu? |
For day durations
Saying day durations in Japanese, you just add 間 after 日(nichi), to make the counter 〜日間 (nichi kan). It is also common for people to just use 〜日 (nichi), just like saying the days of the month, especially for short periods. Either is seen as acceptable for expressing durations in days. The general structure is either of the following:
- Number + 日 (nichi)
- Number + 日間 (nichi-kan)
Looking at the table, you’ll notice that durations expressed in days are basically the same as the names for the days of the month — except for 1日. For durations, “one day” is said as いちにち (ichinichi), while ついたち (tsuitachi) specifically means “the first day of the month” and is not used to express a duration.
| English | Japanese | Furigana | Romaji |
| 1 day | 一日間 | いちにちかん | ichinichi kan |
| 2 days | 二日間 | ふつかかん | futsuka kan |
| 3 days | 三日間 | みっかかん | mikka kan |
| 4 days | 四日間 | よっかかん | yokka kan |
| 5 days | 五日間 | いつかかん | itsuka kan |
| 6 days | 六日間 | むいかかん | muika kan |
| 7 days | 七日間 | なのかかん | nanoka kan |
| 8 days | 八日間 | ようかかん | youka kan |
| 9 days | 九日間 | ここのかかん | kokonoka kan |
| 10 days | 十日間 | とおかかん | tooka kan |
| 14 days | 十四日間 | じゅうよっかかん | juuyokka kan |
| 20 days | 二十日間 | はつかかん | hatsuka kan |
| 30 days | 三十日間 | さんじゅうにちかん | sanjuunichi kan |
| How many days? | 何日間 | なんにちかん? | nannichikan? |
Examples
Here are some example sentences to show how to use day and month durations:
1. 東京に1ヶ月滞在しました。
とうきょうにいっかげつたいざいしました。
Tokyo ni ikkagetsu taizai shimashita.
I stayed in Tokyo for 1 month.
2. 一日中、雨が降っていました。
いちにちちゅう、あめがふっていました。
Ichinichichuu ame ga futteimashita.
It was raining all day..
3. この薬は３日間飲んでください。
このくすりはさんにちかんのんでください。
Kono kusuri wa mikka-kan nonde kudasai.
Please take this medicine for three days.
Being able to say the time and time durations are just as important. So, read our blog for everything you need to know: How To Tell Time in Japanese: Hours, Minutes, Seconds
Conclusion: Learn more Japanese with Coto Academy!
Learning the days of the week and months of the year in Japanese is another essential step toward fluency. Once you know these, you’ll be able to talk about your schedule, plan events, and understand dates in conversations or on signs. Combined with how to tell the time, you’ll be well on your way to managing daily life in Japanese with confidence.
To practice speaking Japanese for daily life, we highly recommend taking Japanese classes at Coto Academy. To practice speaking Japanese for everyday life, we highly recommend taking classes at Coto Academy. We offer both in-person and online Japanese classes, taught by some of the best teachers in the industry.
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FAQ
How do you say months in Japanese?
In Japanese, months don’t have unique names like in English. Instead, you simply say the number of the month followed by 月 (gatsu), which means “month.” For example, January is １月 (ichigatsu), February is ２月 (nigatsu), and so on up to December, which is １２月 (juunigatsu).
What is the usual format for writing the date in Japanese?
The usual format for writing the date in Japanese goes as follows: Year, month, and days. For example, this is how you would usually write the date: 2025年8月7日
For saying months in Japanese, is getsu or gatsu?
When referring to a month in the year, such as January, you say the corresponding number and gatsu, for example ichi-gatsu (1月). However, for durations such as 1 month or 2 months, you say ka-getsu instead. For example, saying a duration of 1 month, it is ikka getsu (1ヶ月).
What is the difference between Sino-Japanese and native Japanese numbers?
Sino-Japanese numbers originate from China and are the standard words for numbers for example: ichi (1), ni (2), san (3), shi/yon (4), go (5). Native Japanese numbers are usually used for counting different things such as general objects or the first 10 days of the month. For example: hitotsu (1), futatsu (2), mitsu (3), yotsu (4), itsuitsu (5).