長い一日
nagai ichinichi
In Japanese, "long day" is expressed as 長い一日 (nagai ichinichi).
The phrase is used to describe a day that feels like it has lasted a long time, often because it was tiring or busy. While it can be used literally to describe a day with many hours, it is most commonly used figuratively to express exhaustion after a busy or difficult day.
How do you pronounce it?
nagai ichinichi
Did you know?
- The word for 'one day' 一日 can be read as ichinichi when counting time or tsuitachi when referring to the first day of the month. Misreading it in the phrase 長い一日 would change the meaning to 'a long first day of the month'.
- While 長い一日 describes the duration, Japanese speakers often use お疲れ様 'otsukaresama' as the social response to someone mentioning they had a 'long day'. It literally means 'you are tired' but functions as a necessary professional greeting.
- In Japanese culture, describing a day as 'long' often implies a sense of endurance. This ties into the concept of gaman 'patience' or 'perseverance', where enduring a long, tiring day is often seen as a virtuous trait.
Examples in context
- 今日は長い一日になりそうだな。It looks like today will be a long day.This sentence shows how to express a prediction that today will become a long day using 長い一日.Tatoeba #2836258 by tommy_san, translation #2837951 by CK
- 今日は本当に長い1日だったね。Today was such a long day, wasn't it?
- 今日は大切な日だったけど、すごく長く感じた。Today was an important day, but it felt incredibly long.
- 本当に、長い一日だった。Hontou ni, nagai ichinichi datta.It really was a long day.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are talking at home in the evening.
- 陽葵 Himari健太、お疲れ様。今日は長い一日だったね。Kenta, otsukaresama. Kyou wa nagai ichinichi datta ne.Good job today, Kenta. It was a long day, wasn't it?
- 健太 Kentaああ、本当に長い一日だったよ。Aa, hontou ni nagai ichinichi datta yo.Yeah, it really was a long day.
- 陽葵 Himariゆっくり休んでね。Yukkuri yasunde ne.Please rest well.
- 健太 Kentaありがとう、陽葵。Arigatou, Himari.Thanks, Himari.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
