How to write the date in Japanese - A Beginner’s Guide

When learning any language, one of the most basic yet essential skills is reading and writing the date. In Japanese, this becomes particularly important for practical situations like booking appointments, making reservations at a restaurant, or pre-ordering tickets. Given Japan’s strong emphasis on punctuality and order, understanding how to write date in Japanese is especially useful. That’s why we recommend mastering writing dates in Japanese early in your language journey—it’s a high-impact skill that pays off quickly. Without further ado, let’s get started.

Important Kanji to Structure the Date in Japanese

To confidently express dates in Japanese, it’s essential to know the core kanji characters that structure how dates are written and understood. These kanji represent the year (年), month (月), and day (日), forming the foundation of Japanese date formatting. If you’ve ever wondered how do Japanese write the dates, understanding these characters is the first step. This knowledge not only helps with writing dates in Japanese but also enhances your reading skills when interpreting schedules, event posters, and official forms in Japan. Let’s explore the most important kanji you’ll need to get started.

As long as a date is specified, these Kanji will be used. Therefore, it is crucial that they are mastered to the point of becoming second nature.

How Are Dates Expressed in Japanese? - Order of Dates & Western Format

If you're just starting to learn Japanese, understanding how dates are written and spoken is essential. Whether you're booking a hotel, filling out a form, or reading a train schedule, knowing the correct date format will help you avoid confusion.

The Basic Format: Year-Month-Day

So, how do Japanese write the dates? In Japan, dates are written in the order of Year → Month → Day. This format is logical and follows a largest-to-smallest unit structure. Here's how it looks in Japanese:

For example:

1. 2025年3月5日 → March 5, 2025

(Read as Nisen nijūgo-nen sangatsu itsuka)

• Nisen nijūgo-nen (2025年) = Year 2025

  
  

• Sangatsu (3月) = March

  
  

• Itsuka (5日) = 5th day

2. 1999年12月31日 → December 31, 1999

(Read as Sen kyūhyaku kyūjūkyū-nen jūni-gatsu sanjūichi-nichi)

• Sen kyūhyaku kyūjūkyū-nen (1999年) = Year 1999

  
  

• Jūni-gatsu (12月) = December

  
  

• Sanjūichi-nichi (31日) = 31st day

So if your birthday is on August 10, 1997, it would be written in Japanese as: 1997年8月10日

(sen kyū hyaku kyū jū nana nen hachi gatsu tōka)

That said, while understanding the date is simple, the readings, especially for the first 10 days, can take some getting used to.

How to Read Japanese Dates?

When reading dates aloud in Japanese:

• Years are read as regular numbers followed by 年 (nen).

• Months use a number + 月 (gatsu), for example, 1月 is ichi-gatsu (January).

• Days are a bit trickier, as many use irregular readings. For example:

  
  

• 1日 = tsuitachi (1st)

• 2日 = futsuka (2nd)

• 10日 = tōka (10th)

There are special readings for the 1st to the 10th and other exceptions, so it’s helpful to memorize them.

Western Format vs. Japanese Format

In Western countries like the US, the common format is Month/Day/Year, such as 04/24/2025. This can lead to misunderstandings if you're not careful in Japan.

While digital platforms or international businesses in Japan may use MM/DD/YYYY to cater to global users, the standard and official way to write dates in Japan is always YYYY/MM/DD.

You’ll see this format used in:

• Government forms

• Event posters

• Train and airline tickets

• Official websites

• School documents

Understanding this format is key to reading and writing dates correctly in Japanese.

How to Write the Day in Japanese?

Writing the day in Japanese is a bit more nuanced than writing the year or month. While the structure is fairly simple—Japanese uses a number followed by the kanji 日 (にち / nichi), meaning “day”—some days of the month have unique or irregular readings that can be tricky for beginners.

For example, the 1st day of the month is not “ichi-nichi” as you might expect, but ついたち (tsuitachi). Similarly, days like the 14th, 20th, and 24th also have special readings that don’t follow the standard number pattern.

Understanding how to write and pronounce each day correctly is essential when filling out forms, setting appointments, or reading calendars in Japanese. It’s one of those core skills that will instantly make your Japanese more natural and accurate.

Readings of days:

Aside from the irregular readings which still follow a pattern, the other days are simple and direct to express.

How to Write the Month in Japanese?

Writing the month in Japanese is straightforward once you understand the pattern. Each month is represented by a number (from 1 to 12) followed by the kanji 月 (がつ / gatsu), which means “month” or “moon.”

For Example:

• January = 1月 (ichi-gatsu)

• February = 2月 (ni-gatsu)

• December = 12月 (jūni-gatsu)

This consistent structure makes it one of the easier parts of learning to write the date in Japanese. There are no irregular readings or exceptions, so once you’ve memorized the numbers 1 through 12 in Japanese, you can write any month correctly. Understanding how to write months is essential for tasks like booking travel, reading event dates, or filling out forms in Japan.

Here are the readings for the month and year which are much more straightforward:

You can also watch this video below on Youtube by JapanesePod101 to hear the pronunciation of each month by a native speaker:

With this, you have mastered how to express dates in 西暦（せいれき）, also known as the western calendar format. However, it would also be helpful to learn about dates in the traditional format, as some documents may use it instead.

How to Write the Year in Japanese?

Writing the year in Japanese follows a simple structure once you’re familiar with Japanese numbers. The year is written using the full number followed by the kanji 年 (ねん / nen), which means “year.” Traditionally, the date is based on the reign of the current emperor. Each emperor’s reign marks the beginning of a new era, and the years are counted from the first year of that era.

The current era is 令和 (Reiwa), which began in 2019. Instead of writing 2019年, you can write 令和元年 (Reiwa gan-nen). “元年” (がんねん, gan-nen) means "first year" of an era. Do note that the year starts from 1, not 0!

Since 2025 is the 7th year, it will be called: 令和7年 (Reiwa nana-nen).

Here are the main eras, i.e. the modern ones, you will come across most of the time:

• 平成 (へいせい, Heisei): 1989–2019

• 昭和 (しょうわ, Shōwa): 1926–1989

• 大正 (たいしょう, Taishō): 1912–1926

If you were born before 1989, you were born in the Shōwa (昭和) era. If you were born between 1989 and 2019, your birth year falls under the Heisei (平成) era. To write a year in the traditional system, you write the era name followed by the year number within that era and the kanji 年 (nen) for "year."

For Example:

• If you were born in 2000, your birth year is 平成12年 (Heisei 12-nen) because 2000 was the 12th year of the Heisei era.

• If you were born in 1980, your birth year is 昭和55年 (Shōwa 55-nen) because 1980 was the 55th year of the Shōwa era.

• If you were born in 1950, your birth year is 昭和25年 (Shōwa 25-nen) because 1950 was the 25th year of the Shōwa era.

It can be confusing at first, but getting used to it will improve your ability to read documents, news reports, and more academic or traditional literature in general.. We believe that it’s good general knowledge that can be applied towards better understanding the culture and their way of conducting business.

How to Write the Days of the Week in Japanese?

In Japanese, the days of the week are closely linked to nature and ancient elements, with each day ending in the kanji 曜 (よう / yō), which means "day of the week." Each day starts with a different element or celestial body, such as the sun, moon, or fire—reflecting both Chinese and Japanese traditional cosmology.

Learning how to write and recognize these days is essential for understanding schedules, making appointments, and navigating daily life in Japan. In this section, we’ll break down the names, meanings, and kanji for all seven days of the week in an easy-to-follow format.

A fun fact about the days of the week in Japanese is that they are named after elements of nature, and they all end with 曜日(yōbi):

This is arguably the trickiest part of learning to express time and day in Japanese due to how different it is from other languages. Instead of trying to remember all 7 at once, we recommend starting from the weekends before slowly making your way through the weekdays.

If you like to listen to how the days of the week sound in Japanese, you can also check out the Youtube video below:

How to Write the Full Date (New and Traditional Way)

When writing or reading dates in Japanese, you'll come across two main formats: the modern Western-style and the traditional Japanese-style. Understanding both is essential—not only for filling out forms or reading official documents but also for appreciating how Japan blends its rich history with contemporary practices.

Reviewing what we previously went through in previous sections, you can write the full date in Japanese by using the format YYYY年MM月DD日.

For example, if we want to write 25 December, 2024, there are two ways we can write it:

Western Format

2024年12月25日 (にせんにじゅうよねん　じゅうにがつ　にじゅうごにち, Nisen nijūyon-nen jūni-gatsu nijūgo-nichi)

Traditional Format

令和6年12月25日 (れいわ　ろくねん　じゅうにがつ　にじゅうごにち, Reiwa roku-nen jūni-gatsu nijūgo-nichi)

To summarise, dates are expressed in the following structure:

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

• Example: 2024年5月12日 → にせんにじゅうよねんごがつじゅうににち (Nisen nijūyo-nen gogatsu jūni-nichi)

Important Phrases to Talk About Dates in Japanese

When discussing dates in Japanese, it's essential to know the right phrases for everyday conversations, scheduling events, and making plans. Whether you're setting up a meeting, talking about past or future events, or simply asking for the date, understanding these key expressions will help you communicate more effectively. Here are some important phrases to confidently talk about dates in Japanese.

1. Appointments / Reservations

2. Asking / Answering Questions

FAQs

1. What is the difference between writing dates in kanji and hiragana?

Dates in Japanese are typically written using kanji, as they provide a clear and standardized format. However, when speaking or writing for beginners, hiragana may sometimes be used for clarity. For example, 3月5日 (March 5) is commonly written with kanji, but in hiragana, it could be written as さんがつ いつか (sangatsu itsuka).

2. How do I write my birthdate in Japanese?

To write your birth date, follow the format YYYY年MM月DD日 (Year-Month-Day). For example, if you were born on July 20, 1995, you would write 1995年7月20日. If using the traditional era system, it would be 平成7年7月20日 (Heisei 7-nen, 7-gatsu, 20-nichi).

3. Do Japanese people use the Western calendar or the traditional era system more often?

In everyday life, the Western calendar is seeing increasing use.. However, the traditional era system can still be seen in official documents, government papers, and historical references.

4. How do I say today’s date in Japanese?

今日はｙｙ年ｍｍ月ｄｄ日です。（きょう は ｙｙねん ｍｍがつ ｄｄにち です。）

5. What should I do if I need to convert a year to the Japanese era system?

If you need to convert a year into the traditional era system, you can use an online Japanese era converter.

Conclusion

Aside from a few irregular readings for the days and a different week system, expressing date and time in Japanese may be conversely easier to learn than it would be in English. Being able to reserve a ticket, fill out a form, and inquire about an event’s date is truthfully only a few steps away when you know how to write date in Japanese!

Now that you understand how to write and say dates in Japanese, try writing your birthdate or today’s date. Keep practicing, and soon it will feel just as natural as writing dates in your native language.

Practice Writing and Speaking Dates in Japanese with Sakuraspeak

Learning how to write the date in Japanese is just the beginning. To truly master the language, practicing conversational Japanese in real-life situations is key. Sakuraspeak, your AI-powered conversational partner, makes it easy to practice speaking Japanese in a fun and pressure-free environment.

Whether you're asking about dates, planning a trip, or having a casual conversation, Sakuraspeak provides immediate feedback to help you improve. Start building your confidence and fluency today—download Sakuraspeak and begin your conversational Japanese journey!