Months and Days of the Month in Japanese — Complete Pronunciation Guide

Japanese date readings are one of the hardest things to memorize at the N5 level. Months are fairly regular, but days of the month (dates) from the 1st to the 10th all have completely irregular readings that bear no resemblance to normal numbers. The good news: once you've memorized those ten, the rest follow a pattern.

Months (~月): Mostly Regular + Three Exceptions

Months follow the pattern number + がつ. Most are straightforward, but three have sound changes:

The three to watch: April しがつ (not よんがつ), July しちがつ (not なながつ), September くがつ (not きゅうがつ).

Month-Related Vocabulary

Q: 来月は何月ですか。 What month is next month? A: 来月は四月です。 Next month is April.

Dates (~日): Days 1-10 Must Be Memorized

Date readings are the biggest "brute memorization" zone at N5. Days 1 through 10 all have special readings completely different from regular number pronunciation:

Memory tip: Days 2-10 all end in か (ふつか, みっか, よっか...). Only the 1st — ついたち — is a completely independent word.

The readings for days 1-10 come from the old native Japanese counting system (Yamato words), completely different from Sino-Japanese numbers. There's no shortcut — just repeat them out loud:

ついたち・ふつか・みっか・よっか・いつか・むいか・なのか・ようか・ここのか・とおか

Try saying them three times a day for a week.

Days 11-31

From the 11th onward, the regular pattern returns (number + にち), with three exceptions:

After the 10th, only three are irregular: 14th じゅうよっか, 20th はつか, and 24th にじゅうよっか. The 14th and 24th keep the よっか reading from "4," while the 20th is a completely unique word.

Year-Related Vocabulary

Putting It Together: Month + Day

Japanese dates follow the order month + day, just like English "March 20th":

三月二十日に日本へ行きます。 → I'm going to Japan on March 20th.

To ask the date, use 何日 (なんにち):

Q: 今日は何日ですか。 What's the date today? A: 今日は十五日です。 It's the 15th.

To ask the month, use 何月 (なんがつ):

Q: お誕生日は何月何日ですか。 When is your birthday? A: 七月七日です。 July 7th.

Using に with Dates

To say "on a certain date," add the particle に:

三月五日に日本へ行きます。 → I'm going to Japan on March 5th.

十二月二十五日にパーティーがあります。 → There's a party on December 25th.

However, 今日 (today) and 明日 (tomorrow) don't take に — the same rule as with other time expressions.

Week-Related Vocabulary

Notice the pattern: 先~ (last), 今~ (this), 来~ (next). This prefix set works across weeks, months, and years: 先週/先月/去年, 今週/今月/今年, 来週/来月/来年.

Summary

• Months: number + がつ. Watch out for April しがつ, July しちがつ, September くがつ
• Days 1-10: all irregular readings, must memorize. All end in か (except the 1st)
• Days 11+: number + にち, but the 14th, 20th, and 24th are irregular
• Time prefix trio: 先~ (last), 今~ (this), 来~ (next)
• Date order: month + day (same as English)

Self-Check

Q1. Read this date aloud in Japanese: March 8th (3月8日)

Q2. How do you read the 20th in Japanese?

Q3. Ask "When is your birthday?" in Japanese.