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23. Days of the Week

0:00 --:--
今、忙しいですか
Are you busy right now?
ええ、忙しいです
Yeah, I'm busy
月曜日は仕事です
Monday is work
火曜日も働きます
Tuesday I work too
へー、そうですか
Oh, really?
水曜日はどうですか
How about Wednesday?
水曜日は日本語を勉強します
Wednesday I study Japanese
友達は日本人です
My friend is Japanese
へー、日本語ですか
Oh, Japanese?
いつ会いますか
When can we meet?
木曜日はどうですか
How about Thursday?
木曜日も忙しいです
Thursday is busy too
ああ、そうですか
Oh, is that so?
金曜日は何をしますか
What do you do on Friday?
金曜日は休みます
Friday I rest
午前は寝ます
I sleep in the morning
えー、いいですね
Oh, that's nice
午後は友達に会います
In the afternoon I meet friends
一緒にご飯を食べます
We eat together
土曜日はどうですか
How about Saturday?
土曜日は出かけます
Saturday I go out
私も出かけます
I go out too
日曜日は何をしますか
What do you do on Sunday?
日曜日は家族に会います
Sunday I see my family
家族ですか
Your family?
私も家族に会います
I see my family too
土曜日に一緒に行きますか
Want to go together on Saturday?
ええ、行きます
Yeah, let's go
本当ですか
Really?
ありがとうございます
Thank you

Cultural Notes

Each day is named after nature

The kanji in each day tells you what it represents. 月 is the moon, 火 is fire, 水 is water, 木 is wood, 金 is gold, 土 is earth, and 日 is the sun. This system comes from ancient astronomy -- each day was linked to a visible celestial body. Once you spot the pattern, the kanji are much easier to remember.

日 does double duty

You will see 日 a lot. It shows up in 日曜日 (Sunday), but it also appears in 日本 (Japan) and 日本語 (Japanese). It means "sun" or "day" depending on context. In the days of the week, the 日 at the end of every word just means "day" -- so 月曜日 is literally "moon-day day."

Japanese weekends work differently

In Japan, Saturday is technically a half-day for many schools and some offices. Kids often have school on Saturday mornings, and the real day off is Sunday. So when someone says 土曜日 is busy, it might not mean the same thing as a Western Saturday.