今日はいい日です
kyou wa ii hi desu
The English phrase 'today is a good day' is expressed in Japanese as 今日はいい日です (kyou wa ii hi desu).
This phrase is used to state that the current day is pleasant or positive.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 今日 (kyou) meaning 'today', は (wa) which is the topic marker, いい (ii) meaning 'good', 日 (hi) meaning 'day' and です (desu) which is the polite copula 'is'.
Which one should you use?
Using いい (ii) is a general way to express positivity. In contrast, using a word like saikou would imply the day is exceptionally great or 'the best'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the sentence informal, you can replace the polite copula です (desu) with the plain form だ (da), resulting in 今日はいい日だ.
How do you pronounce it?
kyou wa ii hi desu
Did you know?
- The phrase can refer to Rokuyō, a traditional six-day cycle used to decide whether today is a 'good day' for a wedding or a funeral.
- The word いい (ii) has an irregular negative form よくない (yokunai) because it is a simplified version of the older word よい (yoi).
- The particle は (wa) is actually written with the character は (ha), which is usually pronounced 'ha' in words like 'hana' (flower), but is pronounced 'wa' when used as a topic marker in this phrase.
Examples in context
- 今日はいい日です。新しいプロジェクトを始めましょうToday is a good day. Let's start the new project.
- 今日はいい日です。Kyou wa ii hi desu.Today is a good day.
- 晴れているので、今日はいい日です。Harete iru node, kyou wa ii hi desu.Since it is sunny, today is a good day.
- 特別なことはないけれど、今日はいい日です。Tokubetsu na koto wa nai keredo, kyou wa ii hi desu.Nothing special is happening, but today is a good day.
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are walking to school on a sunny morning.
- 結衣 Yuiいい天気ですね。Ii tenki desu ne.The weather is nice, isn't it?
- 陽太 Yotaそうですね。今日はいい日です。Sou desu ne. Kyou wa ii hi desu.It is. Today is a good day.
- 結衣 Yui何かいいことがありそうです。Nanika ii koto ga ari sou desu.It feels like something good will happen.
- 陽太 Yota僕もそう思います。Boku mo sou omoimasu.I think so too.
