Kanji’s might look hard to read at first, but once you master the basic Kanji’s, I promise it will get easier. Writing Kanji’s is hard, but reading them is not so bad. In this article, let me introduce you to some Kanji’s that represent the days of the week, such as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays, etc..  I will also include new vocabularies to go with each one of them.

 

 

Monday – Getsuyo-bi(げつようび、月曜日)

月means “Moon” in Japanese. For Kanji, 月, there are more than one way of pronouncing the Kanji.One is Getsu(げつ) or Gatsu(がつ),and the other is Tsuki(つき). Each Kanji has what we call, Onyomi(おんよみ、音読み)& Kunyomi(くんよみ、訓読み). I don’t want to confuse you, but just know that each Kanji might have multiple ways of reading or pronouncing based on the combinations of the words. Let me explain this using examples below:

月曜日(げつようび)-Getsuyo-bi, Monday

月見(つきみ)-Tsukimi, Moon viewing

３月(さんがつ)-Sangatsu, March

月明かり(つきあかり)-Tsukiakari, Moonlight

満月(まんげつ)-Mangetsu, Full Moon

So, now you see how each 月is read differently based on the combination of words. I have to tell you even though you might not know how to read or pronounce Kanji combinations, if you know the meaning of each Kanji, you will quickly understand what the word means.

 

For example, the simple one above is the 月見.  月 means Moon, and 見 means look or viewing.  So, together, 月見 means “Moon Viewing.” This is why I mentioned earlier that understanding Kanji will get easier over time with more knowledge about each Kanji. Actually, when I read Chinese Characters, even though I might not know how to pronounce them correctly, most of the time, I understand what they mean by looking at the each Kanji closely. So, let’s keep learning the next Kanji.

 

Tuesday – Kayo-bi(かようび、火曜日)

火 means “Fire” in Japanese. For Kanji, 火, there are two ways of pronouncing it.One is Ka(か)and the other is Hi(ひ).Let’s go over some examples below:

火曜日(かようび)-Kayo-bi, Tuesday

火事(かじ)- Kaji, Fire

火山(かざん)-Kazan, Volcano

火薬(かやく)-Kayaku, Gunpowder

Again, out of the examples above, take a look at the 火山. 火means fire, 山 means mountain in Japanese. Together, 火山 means firing mountain, meaning Volcano! 🙂

 

Wednesday – Suiyo-bi(すいようび、水曜日)

水 means “Water” in Japanese. For Kanji, 水, there are two ways of pronouncing it.One is Sui(すい)and the other is Mizu(みず).Let’s go over some examples below:

水曜日(すいようび)-Suiyo-bi, Wednesday

水玉(みずたま)-Mizutama, Drop of water

水草(みずくさ)-Mizukusa, Water grass

水道(すいどう)-Suido, Faucet

 

Thursday – Mokuyo-bi(もくようび、木曜日)

木 means “Tree or Wood” in Japanese. This Kanji can be read as Ki(き), Ko(こ), Moku(もく), Boku(ぼく). Let’s go over some examples below:

木曜日(もくようび)-Mokuyo-bi, Thursday

木目(もくめ)-Mokume, grain of wood

庭木(にわき)-Niwaki, garden tree

木陰(こかげ)-Kokage, shade of a tree

大きな木(おおきなき)-Ookinaki, big tree

 

Friday – Kinyo-bi(きんようび、金曜日)

金 means “Money”or “Gold” in Japanese.This Kanji can be read as Kin(きん), Kon(こん), Kane(かね), Kana(かな). Let’s go over some examples below:

金曜日(きんようび)-Kinyo-bi, Friday

お金(おかね)-Okane, Money

金色(きんいろ)-Kiniro, Gold (color)

貯金(ちょきん)-Chokin, savings

金物(かなもの)-Kanamono, hardware

 

Saturday – Doyo-bi(どようび、土曜日)

土 means “Soil” in Japanese.This Kanji can be read as Tsuchi(つち) and Do(ど). Let’s go over some examples below:

土曜日(どようび)-Doyo-bi, Saturday

土足(どそく)-Dosoku, with your shoes on

赤土(あかつち)-Akatsuchi, Red Clay

土砂(どしゃ)-Dosha, Soil or sand

 

Sunday – Nichiyo-bi(にちようび、日曜日)

日 means “Sun” in Japanese.This Kanji can be read as Hi(ひ), Ka(か), Nichi(にち), and Jitsu(じつ). Let’s go over some examples below:

日曜日(にちようび)-Nichiyo-bi, Sunday

三日(みっか)-Mikka, 3 days

一日(いちにち)-Ichinichi, One day or all day

日の出(ひので)-Hinode, Sunrise

一月一日(いちがつついたち)-Ichigatsu tsuitachi, January 1st

Lastly, this video is for your review.  There are additional words you can learn in this video, such as Today, Tomorrow. etc..

Hope this lesson was helpful, and that you were able to build more Japanese vocabularies. Let me know in the comment section if you have any questions on these! Enjoy learning Japanese!