The twelve months
Months have no names, only numbers. Three use the older number readings, just like the hours: April is しがつ, July しちがつ and September くがつ.
Days of the month
The first ten days use native Japanese numbers + か, the same words as an old way of counting days. 1st is the odd one out: ついたち comes from 月立ち, “the moon rises”, the start of the old lunar month. 20th is はつか, a word with no regular pattern.
| Date | Day | Note |
|---|---|---|
| tsuitachi | 1st | from “the moon rises” |
| futsuka | 2nd | native numbers + か |
| mikka | 3rd | |
| yokka | 4th | |
| itsuka | 5th | |
| muika | 6th | |
| nanoka | 7th | |
| yōka | 8th | |
| kokonoka | 9th | |
| tōka | 10th | |
| jūyokka | 14th | 十 + よっか |
| hatsuka | 20th | unique word |
| nijūyokka | 24th | 二十 + よっか |
Writing a full date
Order runs from year to day, with the day of the week in brackets at the end. Each part keeps its unit, so the date never needs slashes, and nobody confuses 3 November with 11 March.
Spoken, the same order applies: 二〇二六年十一月十二日. In vertical text, years are often written digit by digit with 〇 for zero.
Era years: 令和, 平成, 昭和
Alongside the Western calendar, Japan numbers years by imperial era (gengō). A new era starts when a new emperor takes the throne, and its first year is 元年 gannen. Government forms, bank paperwork and some receipts use era years, so it pays to recognise them.
| Era | Reading | Began | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 令和 | Reiwa | 1 May 2019 | 2026 = 令和8年 |
| 平成 | Heisei | 8 January 1989 | 2000 = 平成12年 |
| 昭和 | Shōwa | 25 December 1926 | 1970 = 昭和45年 |
To convert a Reiwa year, add 2018: 令和8年 + 2018 = 2026.
Asking about dates
Put 何 nan where the number would go.
Last week, this month, next year
先 (previous), 今 (this) and 来 (next) combine with week, month and year. Note the irregular forms for year.
| Word | Meaning | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| senshū | last week | 先 + 週 |
| konshū | this week | 今 + 週 |
| raishū | next week | 来 + 週 |
| sengetsu | last month | 先 + 月 |
| kongetsu | this month | 今 + 月 |
| raigetsu | next month | 来 + 月 |
| kyonen | last year | irregular |
| kotoshi | this year | irregular |
| rainen | next year | 来 + 年 |
Saying your age and birthday
Ages use 歳 (sai), with 二十歳 read as the special はたち.
Dates on forms
Japanese forms often ask for era years. Practise reading them.
Check yourself
Say each date, then open the answer.
- April 1st
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shigatsu tsuitachiBoth parts are special readings. - the 20th
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hatsuka - July 7th
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shichigatsu nanoka - next week
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raishū - last year
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kyonen
Dates in sentences
Like clock times, specific dates take に (on); relative words like 明日 do not.