Japanese Dates

Japanese dates are written and spoken differently than English dates. Learning how to read and write dates in Japanese will help you understand calendars, schedules, travel information, and everyday conversations.

Table of Contents

Japanese dates usually follow this order:

year + month + day

Example:

2026年3月4日

Each part of the date uses a specific character:

Character	Meaning
年	year
月	month
日	day

Months in Japanese

Japanese months are simple because they follow a consistent pattern.

Each month is formed using a number followed by the character 月 (gatsu).

Month	Japanese	Romaji
January	一月	ichi-gatsu
February	二月	ni-gatsu
March	三月	san-gatsu
April	四月	shi-gatsu
May	五月	go-gatsu
June	六月	roku-gatsu
July	七月	shichi-gatsu
August	八月	hachi-gatsu
September	九月	ku-gatsu
October	十月	jū-gatsu
November	十一月	jūichi-gatsu
December	十二月	jūni-gatsu

Days of the Week in Japanese

Days of the week are often used together with dates when talking about schedules or events.

Day	Japanese	Romaji
Monday	月曜日	getsu-yōbi
Tuesday	火曜日	ka-yōbi
Wednesday	水曜日	sui-yōbi
Thursday	木曜日	moku-yōbi
Friday	金曜日	kin-yōbi
Saturday	土曜日	do-yōbi
Sunday	日曜日	nichi-yōbi

Example:

月曜日、2026年3月4日

Meaning:

Monday, March 4, 2026

Writing Dates in Japanese

Japanese dates usually follow this structure:

year年 month月 day日

Examples:

2026年3月4日
2025年8月15日
2024年12月25日

This format is commonly used in newspapers, schedules, and official documents.

Days of the Month in Japanese

Days of the month are written using the number followed by 日 (nichi).

Examples:

Day	Japanese	Romaji
1st	一日	tsuitachi
2nd	二日	futsuka
3rd	三日	mikka
4th	四日	yokka
5th	五日	itsuka
6th	六日	muika
7th	七日	nanoka
8th	八日	yōka
9th	九日	kokonoka
10th	十日	tōka