何曜日
nanyōbi
In Japanese, "what day" is expressed as 何曜日 (nanyōbi).
This phrase is used specifically to ask for the day of the week (Monday, Tuesday, etc.) rather than a specific date or a general time.
How do you pronounce it?
nanyōbi
Did you know?
- The days of the week in 何曜日 are named after the classical celestial bodies, including 'fire' for Mars, 'water' for Mercury, and 'wood' for Jupiter. This connects the concept of a 'day' directly to the ancient movement of the planets.
- The word 曜日 is a compound of 曜, meaning 'shining' or 'daylight', and 日, meaning 'sun' or 'day'. Together, they describe the specific 'shining' quality of each planetary day.
- While 何曜日 asks for the day of the week, if you want to ask for the date, you must use a different word, 何日. Using 何曜日 when you mean the calendar date will confuse a native speaker.
Examples in context
- 今日、何曜日？What day is it today?This sentence is useful for asking what day it is today using the form 何曜日.Tatoeba #889710 by bunbuku, translation #476431 by minshirui
- 何曜日生まれ？What day of the week were you born on?This sentence is useful for asking what day of the week someone was born on using the form 何曜日.Tatoeba #13940394 by small_snow, translation #10069741 by ddnktr
- 何曜日か分かりますか？Do you know what day it is?This sentence is useful for asking if someone knows the day of the week using the form 何曜日.Tatoeba #11588807 by small_snow, translation #24597 by CK
- 今日の曜日は何ですか？What is the day of the week today?
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two students are discussing their class schedule.
- 陽葵 Himari次の授業は何曜日だったっけ？Tsugi no jugyō wa nan-yōbi datta kke?What day was the next class again?
- 蓮 Ren木曜日だよ。Mokuyōbi da yo.It's Thursday.
- 陽葵 Himariあ、本当だ。何曜日か忘れてた。A, hontō da. Nan-yōbi ka wasurete ta.Oh, you're right. I forgot what day it was.
- 蓮 Ren大丈夫、まだ時間はあるよ。Daijōbu, mada jikan wa aru yo.It's okay, there is still time.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 何曜日, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
