Dates in Japanese - Year, Month, Day, and the Reiwa Era
Japanese dates run large to small: year, then month, then day. The months use the older Sino readings shi-gatsu, shichi-gatsu, and ku-gatsu. The first ten days of the month use native (Yamato) readings inherited from before Chinese influence.
The format
Order: year + month + day. 2026年4月29日 reads nisen-nijū-roku-nen shi-gatsu nijū-ku-nichi. The kanji 年 (nen, year), 月 (gatsu, month), 日 (nichi, day) act as separators.
Months
Note that 4月, 7月, and 9月 use the older readings (shi, shichi, ku) instead of the everyday yon, nana, kyū.
| # | Kanji | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一月 | ichi-gatsu | January |
| 2 | 二月 | ni-gatsu | February |
| 3 | 三月 | san-gatsu | March |
| 4 | 四月 | shi-gatsu | April |
| 5 | 五月 | go-gatsu | May |
| 6 | 六月 | roku-gatsu | June |
| 7 | 七月 | shichi-gatsu | July |
| 8 | 八月 | hachi-gatsu | August |
| 9 | 九月 | ku-gatsu | September |
| 10 | 十月 | jū-gatsu | October |
| 11 | 十一月 | jū-ichi-gatsu | November |
| 12 | 十二月 | jū-ni-gatsu | December |
Days of the month (1 to 31)
Days 1 to 10 use native readings; 14, 20, and 24 are also irregular. All other days use Sino + 日 (nichi).
| Day | Kanji | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一日 | tsuitachi |
| 2 | 二日 | futsuka |
| 3 | 三日 | mikka |
| 4 | 四日 | yokka |
| 5 | 五日 | itsuka |
| 6 | 六日 | muika |
| 7 | 七日 | nanoka |
| 8 | 八日 | yōka |
| 9 | 九日 | kokonoka |
| 10 | 十日 | tōka |
| 11 | 十一日 | jū-ichi-nichi |
| 12 | 十二日 | jū-ni-nichi |
| 13 | 十三日 | jū-san-nichi |
| 14 | 十四日 | jū-yokka |
| 15 | 十五日 | jū-go-nichi |
| 16 | 十六日 | jū-roku-nichi |
| 17 | 十七日 | jū-shichi-nichi |
| 18 | 十八日 | jū-hachi-nichi |
| 19 | 十九日 | jū-ku-nichi |
| 20 | 二十日 | hatsuka |
| 21 | 二十一日 | ni-jū-ichi-nichi |
| 22 | 二十二日 | ni-jū-ni-nichi |
| 23 | 二十三日 | ni-jū-san-nichi |
| 24 | 二十四日 | ni-jū-yokka |
| 25 | 二十五日 | ni-jū-go-nichi |
| 26 | 二十六日 | ni-jū-roku-nichi |
| 27 | 二十七日 | ni-jū-shichi-nichi |
| 28 | 二十八日 | ni-jū-hachi-nichi |
| 29 | 二十九日 | ni-jū-ku-nichi |
| 30 | 三十日 | san-jū-nichi |
| 31 | 三十一日 | san-jū-ichi-nichi |
Years - Western and imperial era
Western year: 2026年 (nisen-nijū-roku-nen). Imperial era: 令和8年 (Reiwa hachi-nen, 2026). Reiwa began 1 May 2019 with Emperor Naruhito’s accession. Earlier eras: Heisei (平成, 1989-2019), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Taishō (大正, 1912-1926), Meiji (明治, 1868-1912).
Dedicated page for each year, with the imperial-era reading
Days of the week (brief)
- 月曜日 getsuyōbi (Monday)
- 火曜日 kayōbi (Tuesday)
- 水曜日 suiyōbi (Wednesday)
- 木曜日 mokuyōbi (Thursday)
- 金曜日 kin’yōbi (Friday)
- 土曜日 doyōbi (Saturday)
- 日曜日 nichiyōbi (Sunday)
Frequently asked questions
What is the Japanese date format?
Year + month + day, large to small. 2026年4月29日 is read nisen-nijū-roku-nen shi-gatsu nijū-ku-nichi. The order is reversed from the British DD/MM/YYYY and from the American MM/DD/YYYY.
How do I say the year 2026 in Japanese?
2026年 = nisen-nijū-roku-nen. Or in the imperial era, 令和8年 (Reiwa hachi-nen, the 8th year of Reiwa). Both are common: news and casual writing prefer the Western year; government documents and traditional contexts often use the imperial era.
What does Reiwa mean?
Reiwa (令和) is the current Japanese imperial era, beginning 1 May 2019 with the accession of Emperor Naruhito. So 2019 = Reiwa 1, 2020 = Reiwa 2, and so on. 2026 = Reiwa 8. The earlier eras were Heisei (1989-2019) and Shōwa (1926-1989). Source: Wikipedia "Japanese era name", Cabinet Office of Japan.
Why are days 1 to 10 of the month read with native numbers?
These are inherited from native Yamato Japanese, before Chinese readings were imported. The names froze: tsuitachi (1st, "moon-rising"), futsuka (2nd), mikka (3rd), yokka (4th), itsuka (5th), muika (6th), nanoka (7th), yōka (8th), kokonoka (9th), tōka (10th). Day 14, 20, and 24 keep similar irregular forms (jū-yokka, hatsuka, ni-jū-yokka) because they retain the native -ka suffix.
How do I write the date in horizontal Japanese?
Same large-to-small order: 2026年4月29日. The kanji 年 (nen, year), 月 (gatsu, month), 日 (nichi, day) act as separators. Some informal writing uses Western-style 2026/4/29 or 2026-04-29; official documents always use the kanji form.
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