週間
shūkan[ɕɨːkã̠ɴ]
The Japanese phrase for "weeks" is 週間 (shūkan).
週間 is used to express a duration of time consisting of seven-day periods. It is the form used when you are counting how many weeks have passed or how long a period lasts.
Which one should you use?
There is an important distinction between 週間 and 週. While 週間 is used for counting a duration of time (e.g., "for three weeks"), the word 週 alone is used to refer to a specific week, such as "this week" or "next week".
How does it change in a sentence?
When expressing a single week, use the form 一週間 (isshūkan) rather than just using 週間 alone.
How do you pronounce it?
shūkan
What mistakes should you avoid?
When you want to express a duration of several weeks, do not use 週 instead of 週間.
Did you know?
- The Japanese word for 'week' is based on the 'Seven Luminaries'. Each day is named after a celestial body, such as the moon, Mars and Mercury.
- The kanji 間 in 週間 literally means 'interval' or 'space', treating time as a physical distance between two points.
- The phrase 週間 shares the same duration marker 間 with the word for 'hours', 時間, creating a linguistic pattern for measuring time spans.
Examples in context
- ２週間が過ぎた。Two weeks went by.This sentence is useful for showing how to describe a period of two weeks passing.Tatoeba #235481 by arnab, translation #72859 by CM
- ３週間寒さが続いた。The weather stayed cold for three weeks.This sentence shows how to express a cold period lasting for three weeks using 週間.Tatoeba #235307 by e4zh1nmcz, translation #72685 by CK
- 二週間暑いままであった。The weather stayed hot for two weeks.This sentence demonstrates expressing a duration of two weeks of hot weather with 週間.Tatoeba #123137 by arnab, translation #280863 by CK
- 119 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta and Himari are talking about a recent vacation.
- 健太 Kenta何週間、旅行に行っていたの？Nan-shūkan, ryokō ni itte ita no?How many weeks were you traveling?
- 陽葵 Himari二週間、海外に行っていたよ。Ni-shūkan, kaigai ni itte ita yo.I was abroad for two weeks.
- 健太 Kentaそれは長かったね！Sore wa nagakatta ne!That was a long time!
- 陽葵 Himariうん、とても楽しかったよ。Un, totemo tanoshikatta yo.Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 週間, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
