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Everyday Japanese · Beginner

Japanese dates

See how to write and say a date in Japanese, including irregular days, month names and weekdays. Includes a complete day-of-the-month reference.

  1. Choose a calendar date.

  2. Read year, month, day and weekday.

  3. Check the irregular readings below.

2026年4月20日月曜日

にせんにじゅうろくねん しがつ はつか

nisennijuurokunen shigatsu hatsuka

月曜日 · げつようび

Months
MonthReading
1いちがつ
2にがつ
3さんがつ
4しがつ
5ごがつ
6ろくがつ
7しちがつ
8はちがつ
9くがつ
10じゅうがつ
11じゅういちがつ
12じゅうにがつ
Days of the month
DateReading
1ついたち
2ふつか
3みっか
4よっか
5いつか
6むいか
7なのか
8ようか
9ここのか
10とおか
11じゅういちにち
12じゅうににち
13じゅうさんにち
14じゅうよっか
15じゅうごにち
16じゅうろくにち
17じゅうしちにち
18じゅうはちにち
19じゅうくにち
20はつか
21にじゅういちにち
22にじゅうににち
23にじゅうさんにち
24にじゅうよっか
25にじゅうごにち
26にじゅうろくにち
27にじゅうしちにち
28にじゅうはちにち
29にじゅうくにち
30さんじゅうにち
31さんじゅういちにち

Uses Gregorian calendar dates. Date readings differ from durations: the first of a month is ついたち, while one day is いちにち.

A little understanding goes a long way

Make sense of what you’re practicing

01

Largest unit first

Japanese dates normally run year → month → day: 2026年4月20日. The weekday can follow in brackets. The converter uses the Gregorian calendar.

02

Months with special readings

Months combine a number with がつ, but April is しがつ, July is しちがつ and September is くがつ. These differ from common standalone number readings.

03

Dates are not durations

The first of a month is ついたち; one day as a duration is いちにち. Days 1–10, 14, 20 and 24 need special attention, as do the readings of 17, 19, 27 and 29.