Chapter 8: Basic Vocabulary - Days of the Week and Months

Learning the Japanese language can seem like a challenging task, but with systematic study, it is possible to master it. In this chapter, we will focus on the basic vocabulary of days of the week and months, which is fundamental for everyday communication in Japanese.

Days of the Week

In Japanese, the days of the week are called 'youbi'. Here they are:

• Monday: Getsuyoubi (げつようび)
• Tuesday: Kayoubi (かようび)
• Wednesday: Suiyoubi (すいようび)
• Thursday: Mokuyoubi (もくようび)
• Friday: Kinyoubi (きんようび)
• Saturday: Doyoubi (どようび)
• Sunday: Nichiyoubi (にちようび)

As you can see, each day ends with 'youbi', which means 'day of the week'. The first characters represent elements of nature and the cosmos, which are an important part of Japanese culture and philosophy.

Months

Months in Japanese are much simpler than days of the week. They are basically numbers from one to twelve followed by 'gatsu' which means 'month'. Here they are:

• January: Ichigatsu (いちがつ)
• February: Nigatsu (にがつ)
• March: Sangatsu (さんがつ)
• April: Shigatsu (しがつ)
• May: Gogatsu (ごがつ)
• June: Rokugatsu (ろくがつ)
• July: Shichigatsu (しちがつ)
• August: Hachigatsu (はちがつ)
• September: Kugatsu (くがつ)
• October: Juugatsu (じゅうがつ)
• November: Juuichigatsu (じゅういちがつ)
• December: Juunigatsu (じゅうにがつ)

For example, to say 'January', you would say 'Ichigatsu', which literally means 'first month'. Similarly, 'Nigatsu' is 'second month', and so on.

Using Days of the Week and Months in Sentences

Now that you know the days of the week and months in Japanese, let's see how to use them in sentences. Here are some examples:

1. Today is Monday: Kyou wa getsuyoubi desu (きょうはげつようびです)

2. My birthday is in January: Watashi no tanjoubi wa ichigatsu desu (わたしのたんじょうびはいちがつです)

Note that 'wa' is a particle used to indicate the topic of the sentence, 'kyou' means 'today' and 'watashi no' means 'my'.

Conclusion

Understanding the days of the week and months in Japanese is an important step towards becoming fluent in the language. We hope this chapter has helped you expand your basic Japanese vocabulary. Remember, practice is the key to mastery, so keep reviewing and using these words in your everyday life.

In the next chapter, we'll explore more basic vocabulary and grammatical structures. Until then, keep studying and practicing!