How to Master Japanese Days of the Week the Fun Way 🎶

Want to learn Japanese days of the week, but feel intimidated by all the different Kanji? Don’t worry! With this article (and a catchy little song), you’ll learn Japanese days of the week in no time at all. Let’s begin! 

A Quick Guide to Japanese Days of the Week 

In Japanese, 曜日 (ようび, youbi) means “day of the week”. That’s actually the hardest part, because the characters combined with 曜日 (ようび, youbi) are very, very simple:

1.  日曜日 (にちようび, nichiyoubi, Sunday) 

日 = 🌞

日 (nichi) literally means “sun” or “day”. 日曜日 (nichiyoubi) is associated with the sun.  

2. 月曜日 (げつようび, getsuyoubi, Monday)

月 = 🌝

月 (getsu) means “moon” or “month”. 月曜日 (getsuyoubi) is associated with the moon. 

3. 火曜日 (かようび, kayoubi, Tuesday) 

火 = 🔥

火 (ka) means “fire”. 火曜日 (kayoubi) is associated with Mars. 

4. 水曜日 (すいようび, suiyoubi, Wednesday)

水= 💧

水 (sui) means “water”. 水曜日 (suiyoubi) is associated with the planet Mercury.

5. 木曜日 (もくようび, mokuyoubi, Thursday) 

木= 🌲

木 (moku) means “wood” or “tree”. 土曜日 (mokuyoubi) is associated with the planet Jupiter.

6. 金曜日 (きんようび, kinyoubi, Friday)

金= 🏅

金 (kin) means “gold” or “money”. 金曜日 (kinyoubi) is associated with the planet Venus.

7. 土曜日 (もくようび, doyoubi, Saturday)

土= 🟫

土 (do) means “soil” or “earth”. 土曜日 (doyoubi) is associated with the planet Saturn.

Learn Japanese Days of the Week through Song 🎵

If you can’t (or just don’t want to) memorize days of the week by reading or writing them down over and over again, try learning them through fun songs! Weeeek by NEWS is perfect for that.

Here are the key lyrics from the song:

明日からまた日月火

(From tomorrow, it’s back to Sunday, Monday, Tuesday)

ほら水木まわって金土日曜
(Look, after Wednesday and Thursday come around, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

The lyrics cycle through the days of the week in a fun and rhythmic way. Let’s break it down:

1. 明日から (あしたから, ashitakara) – “starting from tomorrow”

• 明日 (あした, ashita) means “tomorrow.”
• から (kara) is a casual way to say “starting from” or “from.”

2. また (mata) – “again”
3. 日月火 (にちげつか, nichigetsuka) – “Sunday, Monday, Tuesday”

• 日 (にち, nichi) is short for 日曜日 (にちようび, nichiyoubi). 日曜日 (にちようび, nichiyoubi) can also be shortened to 日曜 (にちよう, nichiyou). 
• 月 (げつ, getsu) is short for 月曜日 (げつようび, getsuyoubi). 月曜日 (げつようび, getsuyoubi) can also be shortened to 月曜 (げつよう, getsuyou).
• 火 (か, ka) is short for 火曜日 (かようび, kayoubi). 火曜日 (かようび, kayoubi) can also be shortened to 火曜 (かよう, kayou). 

4. ほら (hora) – “look” or “see”

• An exclamation to draw attention, often playful.

5. 水木 (すいもく, suimoku) – “Wednesday, Thursday”

• 水 (すい, sui) is short for 水曜日 (すいようび, suiyoubi). 水曜日 (すいようび, suiyoubi) can also be shortened to 水曜 (すいよう, suiyou,). 
• 木 (もく, moku) is short for 木曜日 (もくようび, mokuyoubi). 木曜日 (もくようび, mokuyoubi) can also be shortened to 木曜 (もくよう, mokuyou). 

6. まわって (まわって, mawatte) – “goes around” or “circles back to”
7. 金土日曜 (きんどにちよう, kindonichiyou) – “Friday, Saturday, Sunday”

• 金 (きん, kin) is short for 金曜日 (きんようび, kinyoubi). 金曜日 (きんようび, kinyoubi) can also be shortened to 金曜 (きんよう, kinyou).
• 土 (ど, do) is short for 土曜日 (どようび, doyoubi). 土曜日 (どようび, doyoubi) can also be shortened to 土曜 (どよう, doyou).  

Here’s the Full Japanese Music Video for You to Enjoy! 

Japanese Days of the Week: Comprehensive Table

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
Sunday	日曜日	にちようび	nichiyoubi
Monday	月曜日	げつようび	getsuyoubi
Tuesday	火曜日	かようび	kayoubi
Wednesday	水曜日	すいようび	suiyoubi
Thursday	木曜日	もくようび	mokuyoubi
Friday	金曜日	きんようび	kinyoubi
Saturday	土曜日	どようび	doyoubi

Japanese Days of the Week: Abbreviated Forms Table 

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
Sun.	日/日曜	にち/にちよう	nichi/nichiyou
Mon.	月/月曜	げつ/げつよう	getsu/getsuyou
Tues.	火/火曜	か/かよう	ka/kayou
Wed.	水/水曜	すい/すいよう	sui/suiyou
Thurs.	木/木曜	もく/もくよう	moku/mokuyou
Fri.	金/金曜	きん/きんよう	kin/kinyou
Sat.	土/土曜	ど/どよう	do/doyou

More Fun Ways to Learn Japanese Days of The Week 

Looking for another creative way to learn Japanese? Check out the anime Sailor Moon, where each Sailor Scout represents a planet corresponding to a day of the week! 

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