曜日
The English phrase "days of the week" is 曜日 in Japanese.
曜日 is used to refer to the days of the week. The specific names for the days of the week are formed by adding 曜日 to the kanji for the celestial bodies: Moon, Fire, Water, Wood, Gold/Metal, Earth and Sun (月曜日, 火曜日, 水曜日, 木曜日, 金曜日, 土曜日, 日曜日).
What does it mean word for word?
The word 曜日 is composed of 曜 (luminous/shining body) and 日 (day/sun).
How does it change in a sentence?
To ask "what day of the week is it?", you add 何 (what) to the front of 曜日.
Did you know?
- The word 曜日 is a back-formation, meaning it was created by extracting the common part of the specific day names like 月曜日 and 火曜日.
- Because the names of the 曜日 are tied to elements, Japanese people sometimes associate certain days with the characteristics of those elements, such as the energy of 'fire' for Tuesday.
- Unlike English, where names like 'Monday' come from Old English or Norse mythology, Japanese 曜日 names were adopted from Chinese calendars during the 7th century.
Examples in context
- フランス語を習い始めてもう３年なんだけど、未だに曜日すら覚えてないんだよね。I've been learning French for three years, and I still haven't even memorized the days of the week.This sentence is useful for expressing difficulty in memorizing even the 曜日.Tatoeba #10123559 by small_snow, translation #10123550 by DJ_Saidez
- 曜日の名前を書いてください。Yōbi no namae o kaite kudasai.Please write the names of the days of the week.
- この曜日はいつも忙しいです。Kono yōbi wa itsumo isogashii desu.I am always busy on this day of the week.
Example conversation
Kenta and Misaki are talking about their weekly schedule.
- 健太 Kenta毎週、決まった曜日がありますか？Maishū, kimatta yōbi ga arimasu ka?Do you have certain days of the week every week?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、水曜日はテニスをします。Hai, suiyōbi wa tenisu o shimasu.Yes, I play tennis on Wednesdays.
- 健太 Kenta美咲さんはとても活動的ですね。Misaki-san wa totemo katsudōteki desu ne.Misaki, you are very active.
- 美咲 Misaki体を動かすのが好きなんです。Karada o ugokasu no ga suki nan desu.I just like moving my body.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 曜日, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
