Time & Calendar

Introduction

Time vocabulary is essential for making plans, keeping schedules, and understanding when things happen. N5 covers days of the week, months, seasons, and basic time expressions.

Japanese time words follow regular patterns, making them relatively easy to learn once you spot the system.

Themes

All JLPT N5 Vocabulary in This Chapter (53)

1. 時間 じかん Time; hours. Used both as a general concept and as a counter for hours.
2. 時 とき Time; hour; moment; when. Marks specific points in time or clock hours.
3. 分 ふん Minute (unit of time). Also means 'part' or 'portion' in other contexts.
4. 半 はん Half; half past (the hour). Used to express thirty minutes past an hour.
5. 秒 びょう Second (unit of time). The smallest common time unit in daily Japanese.
6. 今 いま Now; the present time; just now. Refers to the current moment.
7. 朝 あさ Morning. The time from dawn until around midday.
8. 昼 ひる Noon; midday; daytime. The middle part of the day.
9. 夜 よる Night; evening. The period from sunset to dawn.
10. 夕方 ゆうがた Early evening; dusk. Usually refers to the period from around 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
11. 午前 ごぜん Morning; a.m. The first half of the day, from midnight to noon.
12. 午後 ごご Afternoon; p.m. The second half of the day, from noon to midnight.
13. 今日 きょう Today; this day. Refers to the current calendar day.
14. 明日 あした Tomorrow. The day after today.
15. 昨日 きのう Yesterday. The day before today.
16. 毎日 まいにち Every day; daily. Indicates a habitual, recurring action.
17. 毎朝 まいあさ Every morning. Describes something done each morning as a routine.
18. 毎晩 まいばん Every night; every evening. Describes something done each night.
19. 毎週 まいしゅう Every week; weekly. Describes something done on a weekly basis.
20. 毎月 まいつき Every month; each month; monthly. Describes a monthly occurrence.
21. 毎年 まいとし Every year; yearly; annually. Describes something that happens each year.
22. 先週 せんしゅう Last week; the week before. Refers to the seven-day period before the current week.
23. 今週 こんしゅう This week. Refers to the current seven-day period.
24. 来週 らいしゅう Next week. Refers to the seven-day period after the current week.
25. 先月 せんげつ Last month. Refers to the calendar month before the current one.
26. 今月 こんげつ This month. Refers to the current calendar month.
27. 来月 らいげつ Next month. Refers to the calendar month after the current one.
28. 去年 きょねん Last year. Refers to the calendar year before the current one.
29. 今年 ことし This year. Refers to the current calendar year.
30. 来年 らいねん Next year. Refers to the calendar year after the current one.
31. 月曜日 げつようび Monday. The first day of the work week in Japan.
32. 火曜日 かようび Tuesday. The second day of the work week in Japan.
33. 水曜日 すいようび Wednesday. The middle day of the work week in Japan.
34. 木曜日 もくようび Thursday. The fourth day of the work week in Japan.
35. 金曜日 きんようび Friday. The last day of the work week in Japan.
36. 土曜日 どようび Saturday. The first day of the weekend in Japan.
37. 日曜日 にちようび Sunday. The second day of the weekend in Japan.
38. １月 いちがつ January. The first month of the year.
39. ２月 にがつ February. The second month of the year.
40. ３月 さんがつ March. The third month of the year.
41. ４月 しがつ April. The fourth month of the year.
42. ５月 ごがつ May. The fifth month of the year.
43. ６月 ろくがつ June. The sixth month of the year.
44. ７月 しちがつ July. The seventh month of the year.
45. ８月 はちがつ August. The eighth month of the year.
46. ９月 くがつ September. The ninth month of the year.
47. １０月 じゅうがつ October. The tenth month of the year.
48. １１月 じゅういちがつ November. The eleventh month of the year.
49. １２月 じゅうにがつ December. The twelfth and last month of the year.
50. 春 はる Spring; springtime. The season from March to May in Japan.
51. 夏 なつ Summer; summertime. The hot season from June to August in Japan.
52. 冬 ふゆ Winter; wintertime. The cold season from December to February in Japan.
53. 誕生日 たんじょうび Birthday. The anniversary of the day someone was born.