So far, these vocabulary posts have taught us about both Numbers and the Months of the Year. Today, we'll build on those lessons by learning the days of the week. While we'll be dealing with several new kanji today, I will only be going over 日 as it is the kanji for sun and day, which plays a big part if we are going to be naming the days of the week. As we go on, I'll deal with the various other kanji, but for now, we don't really need to know their readings and meanings.
Remember, the katakana is the On- reading (音) and the hiragana is the Kun- reading (訓).
Remember, the katakana is the On- reading (音) and the hiragana is the Kun- reading (訓).
日 Day, Sun
音:ニチ、ジツ 訓:ひ、か
Common Compounds
日本 にほん Japan (lit. land of rising sun)
一日 いちにち、ついたち one day, first day of month
三日月 みかずき three day moon, crescent moon
Now that we know what the word for day is, we can learn the days of the week.
日曜日 にちようび Sunday
月曜日 げつようび Monday
火曜日 かようび Tuesday
水曜日 すいようび Wednesday
木曜日 もくようび Thursday
金曜日 きんようび Friday
土曜日 どようび Saturday
Here are a few other words that should help you with day related conversations.
今日 きょう today
昨日 きのう yesterday
明日 あす tomorrow
平日 へいじつ weekday
週末 しゅうまつ weekend
Notes
日 & び
If you haven't figured it out yet, the word for day comes from the third kanji, 日, and uses the reading び instead of ひ. Many readings get modified into their dokuon forms in compounds to make them easier to pronounce.
曜
This character is seen throughout the listings and it literally means day of the week. Combined with the kanji for day 日, 曜 helps make up the names for the days of the week.
Sunday 日曜日
Sunday is written with two 日 kanji and, as you probably guessed, it's because it's the Sun Day. 日 represents sun and day and thus, Sunday uses two 日 in it's writing.
Monday 月曜日
Monday features two known kanji for us in the form of 月 and 日. This should be obvious to most, but it is because it is Moon Day. Thus, it uses the kanji for moon and day.
Tuesday 火曜日
Tuesday uses the kanji for fire, 火, in its writing. I have no real insight as to why this is so, but it's a common kanji and one of the first taught to children.
Wednesday 水曜日
Wednesday, like Tuesday, uses a common kanji in the form of 水 which stands for water. Again, I don't know how this relates to Wednesday or why it was used.
Thursday 木曜日
Thursday uses the common kanji for wood or tree for it's name in the form of 木.
Friday 金曜日
I call Friday money day since it uses the kanji for money, 金. This also means metal or gold, so it could be a golden day as well as it is a weekend, but I honestly don't know the meaning for this one.
Saturday 土曜日
Using the kanji for earth or soil, 土, Saturday is another enigma for me. I'm sure you can find the meaning behind all of these out there, and I may do that, but for now, I haven't really had a desire or reason to do so.
Conclusion
Remember, the kanji are there for people at an intermediate level. I'm primarily doing these vocabulary for self review and to provide beginners with a nice list of simple and useful everyday vocabulary. I also like showing the kanji because it gives everyone an early introduction to them. Kanji like 月 and 日 are used very often and just looking at the days of the week should drive home what some of these simple kanji mean. It's not the main goal, but a nice benefit.
Good luck with the new vocabulary. Next time, we'll see about learning how to say the date (ex - August 1st) or possibly how to tell time.
音:ニチ、ジツ 訓:ひ、か
Common Compounds
日本 にほん Japan (lit. land of rising sun)
一日 いちにち、ついたち one day, first day of month
三日月 みかずき three day moon, crescent moon
Now that we know what the word for day is, we can learn the days of the week.
日曜日 にちようび Sunday
月曜日 げつようび Monday
火曜日 かようび Tuesday
水曜日 すいようび Wednesday
木曜日 もくようび Thursday
金曜日 きんようび Friday
土曜日 どようび Saturday
Here are a few other words that should help you with day related conversations.
今日 きょう today
昨日 きのう yesterday
明日 あす tomorrow
平日 へいじつ weekday
週末 しゅうまつ weekend
Notes
日 & び
If you haven't figured it out yet, the word for day comes from the third kanji, 日, and uses the reading び instead of ひ. Many readings get modified into their dokuon forms in compounds to make them easier to pronounce.
曜
This character is seen throughout the listings and it literally means day of the week. Combined with the kanji for day 日, 曜 helps make up the names for the days of the week.
Sunday 日曜日
Sunday is written with two 日 kanji and, as you probably guessed, it's because it's the Sun Day. 日 represents sun and day and thus, Sunday uses two 日 in it's writing.
Monday 月曜日
Monday features two known kanji for us in the form of 月 and 日. This should be obvious to most, but it is because it is Moon Day. Thus, it uses the kanji for moon and day.
Tuesday 火曜日
Tuesday uses the kanji for fire, 火, in its writing. I have no real insight as to why this is so, but it's a common kanji and one of the first taught to children.
Wednesday 水曜日
Wednesday, like Tuesday, uses a common kanji in the form of 水 which stands for water. Again, I don't know how this relates to Wednesday or why it was used.
Thursday 木曜日
Thursday uses the common kanji for wood or tree for it's name in the form of 木.
Friday 金曜日
I call Friday money day since it uses the kanji for money, 金. This also means metal or gold, so it could be a golden day as well as it is a weekend, but I honestly don't know the meaning for this one.
Saturday 土曜日
Using the kanji for earth or soil, 土, Saturday is another enigma for me. I'm sure you can find the meaning behind all of these out there, and I may do that, but for now, I haven't really had a desire or reason to do so.
Conclusion
Remember, the kanji are there for people at an intermediate level. I'm primarily doing these vocabulary for self review and to provide beginners with a nice list of simple and useful everyday vocabulary. I also like showing the kanji because it gives everyone an early introduction to them. Kanji like 月 and 日 are used very often and just looking at the days of the week should drive home what some of these simple kanji mean. It's not the main goal, but a nice benefit.
Good luck with the new vocabulary. Next time, we'll see about learning how to say the date (ex - August 1st) or possibly how to tell time.
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