月曜日
getsuyōbi[ɡe̞t͡sɨjo̞ːbʲi]
Monday in Japanese is 月曜日 (getsuyōbi). Wiktionary also lists 月曜 (getsuyō).
Meaning: day of the week (noun)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 月曜日 | getsuyōbi | [ɡe̞t͡sɨjo̞ːbʲi] (narrow) |
| 月曜 | getsuyō | [ɡe̞t͡sɨjo̞ː] (narrow) |
月曜日 means Monday. The Kanji for Monday is 月曜日.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 月 (moon), 曜 (day of the week) and 日 (day). Getsu (月) means "moon" in Japanese.
Which one should you use?
The full, standard form is 月曜日, whereas the shortened form 月曜 is commonly used in casual conversation or written schedules.
How does it change in a sentence?
To specify that an action occurs on Monday, the particle に is added after the noun, as seen in 月曜日に.
How do you pronounce it?
getsuyōbi
Did you know?
- The character 曜 used in 月曜日 is almost exclusively used for days of the week and is rarely seen in other common Japanese words.
- The concept of Monday being tied to the moon was actually imported into Japan from Chinese astrology during the Heian period.
- While 月曜日 refers to 'Monday', the same character 月 is also used to mean 'month' in Japanese.
Examples in context
- 月曜日です。It's Monday.Tatoeba #175603 by bunbuku, translation #238862 by CK
- 月曜日にして。Do it Monday.Tatoeba #7486203 by Ninja, translation #2245272 by CK
- 月曜日会える？Can we meet on Monday?Tatoeba #7899903 by Ninja, translation #7898144 by CK
- 月曜日だよ！It's Monday!
- 266 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yota and Misaki are discussing their schedules for next week.
- 陽太 Yota月曜日は空いていますか？Getsuyoubi wa aite imasu ka?Are you free on Monday?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、月曜日は大丈夫です。Hai, getsuyoubi wa daijoubu desu.Yes, Monday is fine.
- 陽太 Yotaじゃあ、月曜日に会いましょう。Jaa, getsuyoubi ni aimashou.Then, let's meet on Monday.
- 美咲 Misakiわかりました。楽しみにしています。Wakarimashita. Tanoshimi ni shite imasu.Understood. I am looking forward to it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “Monday” translations and entries 月曜日, 月曜, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 月曜, 月曜日, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
