Mastering Days of the Week in Japanese (Yōbi)

Every day of the week follows a very strict pattern.

They all end with the three-syllable word yōbi.

In kanji, this is written as 曜日.

The first kanji in the word changes for each day.

This first kanji represents a specific planet or element.

For example, the kanji for 'fire' creates the word Tuesday.

The kanji for 'water' creates the word for Wednesday.

You just need to swap the prefix to change the day.

It is like a grammar traffic light that guides your week.

Native speakers often shorten these in very casual text messages.

However, you should learn the full forms first for clarity.

Using the full yōbi sounds polite and clear to everyone.

1. 1Creating a day of the week is a simple process.
2. 2Follow these three steps to build any day you need:
3. 3Choose the element kanji that matches your desired day.
4. 4Add the suffix yōbi immediately after that element kanji.
5. 5Add the particle ni if you are targeting a specific time.
6. 6Here is the list of prefixes you will use:
7. 7getsu (Moon) for Monday.
8. 8ka (Fire) for Tuesday.
9. 9sui (Water) for Wednesday.
10. 10moku (Wood) for Thursday.
11. 11kin (Gold/Metal) for Friday.
12. 12do (Earth) for Saturday.
13. 13nichi (Sun) for Sunday.
14. 14Combine them like this: getsu + yōbi = getsuyōbi.
15. 15It is a consistent formula that never changes or breaks.

Use these words whenever you talk about your weekly schedule.

Are you making a reservation at a popular sushi restaurant?

You will need to say doyōbi for Saturday night.

Are you telling a new friend when you are free?

You might say getsuyōbi wa hima desu for Monday.

Use them when checking train schedules for weekend trips.

They are essential for job interviews to discuss your availability.

If you are at a clinic, you must know mokuyōbi.

Many clinics in Japan close on Thursday afternoons.

Use them to describe recurring habits in your daily life.

For example, 'I go to the gym on Fridays.'

In Japanese, that is kin-yōbi ni jimu ni ikimasu.

Do not use yōbi when you mean 'today' or 'tomorrow'.

Japanese has specific words like kyō and ashita for those.

If you say kyō-yōbi, people will be very confused.

Also, do not use yōbi for specific calendar dates.

If you mean 'the 5th of May', use itsuka.

Yōbi only refers to the seven-day cycle of the week.

Avoid using them when talking about durations of time.

To say 'for three days', use mikka-kan, not yōbi.

Think of yōbi as a name, not a count of time.

It is a label for a specific slot in the week.

Many learners mix up Tuesday and Thursday at first.

Tuesday is kayōbi (Fire) and Thursday is mokuyōbi (Wood).

Think of 'Fire' as the second day of the work week.

Think of 'Wood' as the day before the weekend starts.

Another mistake is forgetting the particle ni for specific actions.

If you say getsuyōbi ikimasu, it sounds a bit like 'Monday go'.

Adding ni makes it 'I will go ON Monday'.

Yes, even native speakers mess this up in fast speech.

But as a learner, ni makes you sound much more professional.

Don't confuse nichiyōbi (Sunday) with nichi (the counter for days).

One is a name, the other is for counting numbers.

You might wonder about the difference between yōbi and hi.

Hi is the general word for 'day' or 'sun'.

Yōbi is specifically for the seven named days of the week.

It is like the difference between 'day' and 'Monday' in English.

Also, compare yōbi with relative time words like konshū.

Konshū means 'this week', while getsuyōbi is just one day.

You can combine them: konshū no getsuyōbi (this week's Monday).

This is a great way to be very specific in conversations.

It prevents you from showing up to a party a week early!