JLPT N5 · Vocabulary by topic
JLPT N5 Japanese Time and Date Vocabulary
How to tell time, name the days, and talk about yesterday/today/tomorrow at JLPT N5 level.
Why this list
Time and date vocabulary is the single most useful N5 cluster for daily life. Every appointment, train schedule, and casual question ('When?') uses this vocabulary.
There are two tricky areas: the days of the month have their own irregular readings up to 10 (ついたち, ふつか, みっか...), and the months use the simpler -gatsu counter on top of the kan-go numbers (一月 ichigatsu = January).
The 29 words
| Kanji | Kana | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 今 | いま | ima | now |
| 今日 | きょう | kyō | today |
| 明日 | あした | ashita | tomorrow |
| 昨日 | きのう | kinō | yesterday |
| 毎日 | まいにち | mainichi | every day |
| 朝 | あさ | asa | morning |
| 昼 | ひる | hiru | noon, daytime |
| 晩 | ばん | ban | evening |
| 夜 | よる | yoru | night |
| 午前 | ごぜん | gozen | AM |
| 午後 | ごご | gogo | PM |
| 時間 | じかん | jikan | time, hour |
| 分 | ふん/ぷん | fun/pun | minute (counter) |
| 秒 | びょう | byō | second |
| 日 | にち/ひ | nichi/hi | day |
| 週 | しゅう | shū | week |
| 月 | つき/がつ | tsuki/gatsu | month; moon |
| 年 | とし/ねん | toshi/nen | year |
| 月曜日 | げつようび | getsuyōbi | Monday |
| 火曜日 | かようび | kayōbi | Tuesday |
| 水曜日 | すいようび | suiyōbi | Wednesday |
| 木曜日 | もくようび | mokuyōbi | Thursday |
| 金曜日 | きんようび | kinyōbi | Friday |
| 土曜日 | どようび | doyōbi | Saturday |
| 日曜日 | にちようび | nichiyōbi | Sunday |
| 週末 | しゅうまつ | shūmatsu | weekend |
| 先週 | せんしゅう | senshū | last week |
| 今週 | こんしゅう | konshū | this week |
| 来週 | らいしゅう | raishū | next week |
Common questions
How do I tell time in Japanese?+
Use [hour] 時 [minute] 分. Three forty-five is 三時四十五分 (sanji yonjūgofun). The minute counter alternates between -fun and -pun depending on the preceding number — memorize the irregulars (ippun, sanpun, yonfun, roppun, jippun).
What's the difference between 今日 and 本日?+
Both mean 'today.' 今日 (kyō) is the everyday spoken form. 本日 (honjitsu) is formal — store announcements, business writing, news. Beginners use 今日 in nearly every situation.
Why does 明日 have multiple readings?+
あした (ashita) is the standard spoken form. あす (asu) is more formal. みょうにち (myōnichi) is rare and very formal. Stick with あした unless you're reading formal text.
Related
The 29words above are part of Inku's 515-card N5 deck, all with bundled pronunciation audio and FSRS spaced review. Try Inku free for 7 days.