今日
kyō[kõ̞ɲ̟ːit͡ɕi]
In Japanese, 'today' is expressed as 今日 (kyō). If unsure, use 今日. Wiktionary also lists 本日 (honjitsu).
Meaning: on the current day (adv)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 今日 | kyō | [kõ̞ɲ̟ːit͡ɕi] (narrow) [kõ̞ɲ̟t͡ɕi] (narrow) |
| 本日 | honjitsu | [hõ̞ɲ̟d͡ʑit͡sɨ] (narrow) |
The word refers to the current day. It can function as an adverb or a noun.
Which one should you use?
今日 (kyō) is the standard word for 'today', whereas 本日 (honjitsu) is a specialized version used for more formal contexts.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
今日 is the most common way to say 'today' in general, everyday conversation. 本日 is used in formal business settings, official announcements or when a speaker is addressing customers.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
If you want to use 'today' as the topic of a sentence (for example, 'As for today…'), you should add the particle は after 今日, forming 今日は.
How do you pronounce it?
kyō
Did you know?
- The word 今日 can be read as konnichi when used in the formal greeting konnichiwa meaning 'good day'.
- Although the word is written with the characters for 'now' and 'day', the common reading 今日 is a linguistic outlier because it does not follow the standard reading of its individual components.
- The formal word 本日 uses the character 本, which literally means 'root' or 'origin', to specify 'this' particular day.
Examples in context
- 今日は暑い。It's hot today.This sentence is useful for describing the weather today using 今日.Tatoeba #171593 by bunbuku, translation #242881 by CK
- 今日って暇？Are you free today?This sentence is useful for asking about someone's availability today using 今日.Tatoeba #8749239 by bunbuku, translation #5989791 by thomsmells
- 今日します。I'll do it today.This sentence is useful for stating an intention to do something today using 今日.Tatoeba #11052197 by small_snow, translation #10337127 by DJ_Saidez
- 本日の予定は…Today's schedule is…
- 今日はお忙しいですか？Are you busy today?
- きょうは遊びに行こう！Let's go play today!
- さようなら、今日は行かないよGoodbye, I'm not going today.
- 1834 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding what to eat for lunch.
- 陽葵 Himari今日は何を食べたい？Kyou wa nani o tabetai?What do you want to eat today?
- 健太 Kenta今日はラーメンにしようかな。Kyou wa raamen ni shiyou kana.I think I'll go with ramen today.
- 陽葵 Himariいいよ。近くに新しい店があるよ。Ii yo. Chikaku ni atarashii mise ga aru yo.Sounds good. There is a new shop nearby.
- 健太 Kentaじゃあ、そこに行こう！Jaa, soko ni ikou!Then, let's go there!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “today” translations and entries 今日, 本日, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
