How to Say the Date in Japanese Without Sounding Like a Confused Time Traveler

Ever tried saying the date in Japanese and ended up feeling like you just recited an ancient spell? Yeah, same. Japanese dates have their own way of playing with numbers, kanji, and logic that make you wonder: Who designed this system? And why do I suddenly feel like I need a PhD to say “March 15th”?

But don’t worry. By the end of this post, you’ll be date-talking in Japanese like a pro (or at least like someone who won’t panic when asked for their birthday). Read on to find out how Japanese dates work, with zero confusion and maximum fun!

The Basic Structure: Year, Month, Day

Let’s start simple. The Japanese date format follows a logical yet completely backward (to English speakers) structure:

Year → Month → Day

Yup. Instead of saying “March 15, 2024,” in Japanese you say:

2024年 3月 15日

(Nisen nijūyon-nen san-gatsu jūgo-nichi)

See those kanji? Let’s break them down:

• 年 (ねん / nen) = Year
• 月 (がつ / gatsu) = Month
• 日 (にち / nichi) = Day

So, a basic pattern looks like this:

👉 [Year] + 年 (nen) + [Month] + 月 (gatsu) + [Day] + 日 (nichi)

Pretty simple, right? Well… hold onto your sushi. We’re about to add some spice.

The Weird Part: Counting Months and Days (It’s Not Always Logical)

You’d think saying the months in Japanese would be a breeze. Just put a number in front of “月 (gatsu),” right?

WRONG.

Okay, mostly right. But with a few exceptions that exist purely to test your patience.

Months in Japanese

Notice those tricky ones? April (Shigatsu) and July (Shichigatsu) don’t follow the usual pattern. Why? Because Japanese loves to keep us on our toes.

Days of the Month: The Real Nightmare

If you thought months were tricky, let me introduce you to Japanese dates, where the first ten days have special names that seem to come out of nowhere.

Here’s a chart of the irregular ones:

From the 11th onward, it’s back to regular numbers (hallelujah!):

• 11th = Jūichi-nichi (十一日)
• 12th = Jūni-nichi (十二日)
• … and so on.

Why the first 10 days are so extra, nobody knows. Maybe ancient Japanese people just wanted to make sure language learners stayed humble.

Bonus: How to Ask the Date in Japanese (Without Sounding Clueless)

If you want to ask someone the date, just say:

👉 今日は何日ですか？ (Kyō wa nan-nichi desu ka?) – “What’s today’s date?”

Or if you want to be fancy:

👉 今日は何月何日ですか？ (Kyō wa nangatsu nannichi desu ka?) – “What month and day is it today?”

To respond, just follow the pattern we learned:

👉 今日は 3月 15日 です！ (Kyō wa sangatsu jūgo-nichi desu!) – “Today is March 15th!”

Easy, right? (As long as you don’t panic and blurt out Mokuyōbi… which just means “Thursday.”)

Final Thoughts: You Got This!

Saying dates in Japanese might feel like solving a puzzle at first, but once you get the hang of the patterns (and the weird exceptions), it’s not so bad. Just remember:

✅ Year → Month → Day format.

✅ Months mostly follow numbers—except for a couple of rebels.

✅ Days 1–10 have their own special names (because why not?).

✅ Asking and answering is simple once you memorize a few key phrases.

Now, go forth and impress your Japanese friends by correctly saying your birthday! Or at least, don’t get stuck trying to remember if “9th” is Kyū-nichi (it’s not, it’s Kokonoka). Ganbatte! 🎌

Got any hilarious stories of struggling with Japanese dates? Share them in the comments! And if you enjoyed this, why not check out other fun Japanese language guides? Because let’s be real, the next thing to confuse you will probably be counting people… 😉