What does it mean word for word?
今日 (kyō) means "today", followed by the topic marker は (wa) which indicates that "today" is the subject being discussed. 月曜日 (getsuyōbi) means "Monday" (literally "moon day"), and the sentence concludes with です (desu), which functions as the copula "is/am/are".
Which one should you use?
You may encounter different endings depending on the level of politeness or the specific nuance you wish to convey, such as adding だよ or だね for informal tones.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more formal setting, you can use 本日は月曜日です. In casual or plain speech, you can use 今日は月曜日だ or add particles like だよ or だね for an informal tone.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai region, you may hear the regional variation 今日はゲツヨウビや.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb です (desu) acts as the copula "to be" and is placed at the end of the sentence. In informal or plain style, です can be replaced with だ (da).
How do you pronounce it?
kyō wa getsuyōbi desu
Did you know?
- While 今日 is read as 'kyō' when it means 'today', the same characters can be read as 'konnichi' in the greeting こんにちは. In this context, it serves as a polite way to address someone during the daylight hours.
- The word 月曜日 follows a naming system based on the 'Seven Luminaries' of ancient East Asian astrology. This system assigns celestial bodies to each day of the week, similar to the Latin roots in English.
- In Japanese, the word for 'month' and the first character of 'Monday' 月 are the same because ancient calendars based months on the lunar cycle. This connects the concept of a monthly period directly to the moon.
Examples in context
- 今日は月曜日です。Today is Monday.This sentence is useful for stating the current day of the week using 今日は月曜日です.Tatoeba #171638 by mookeee, translation #516321 by CK
- カレンダーによると、今日は月曜日です。Karendā ni yoru to, kyō wa getsuyōbi desu.According to the calendar, today is Monday.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are checking the schedule in the office.
- 陽葵 Himari蓮さん、今日は月曜日です。Ren-san, kyō wa getsuyōbi desu.Ren, today is Monday.
- 蓮 Renあ、本当ですね。A, hontō desu ne.Oh, that's true.
- 陽葵 Himari会議は今日からですね。Kaigi wa kyō kara desu ne.The meeting starts today, doesn't it?
- 蓮 Renはい、準備しましょう。Hai, junbi shimashō.Yes, let's get ready.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
