Japanese Lesson 13 – Months & Dates · N5

📋 Expression Reference — Months & Dates

Key phrases across formality levels. Press ▶ to hear any expression.

STANDARD — ていねい (TEINEI)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
なんがつですか？	Nan-gatsu desu ka?	さんがつです。 San-gatsu desu.	Asking what month it is
なんにちですか？	Nan-nichi desu ka?	じゅうごにちです。 Jūgo-nichi desu.	Asking the day of the month
なんがつなんにちですか？	Nan-gatsu nan-nichi desu ka?	にがつとおかです。 Ni-gatsu tooka desu.	Asking the full date (month + day)
たんじょうびはいつですか？	Tanjōbi wa itsu desu ka?	さんがつじゅうごにちです。 San-gatsu jūgo-nichi desu.	Asking someone's birthday

CASUAL — くだけた (KUDAKETA)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
なんがつ？	Nan-gatsu?	ごがつ！ Go-gatsu!	Casual "what month?" — drop です
いつ？	Itsu?	ごがつみっかだよ！ Go-gatsu mikka da yo!	Casual "when?" — minimal question
たんじょうびいつ？	Tanjōbi itsu?	ごがつみっか！ Go-gatsu mikka!	Casual birthday question — particle は dropped

🗣 Mini Dialogues

Three scenes at different formality levels. Press ▶ to hear each line.

A — STANDARD · Birthday Talk

ともこ

たなかさんのたんじょうびはいつですか？

Tanaka-san no tanjōbi wa itsu desu ka?

When is Tanaka-san's birthday?

[PERSON] のたんじょうびはいつですか？

[name] no tanjōbi wa itsu desu ka?

[person]'s birthday — when is it?

→ "When is [person]'s birthday?"

たなか

さんがつじゅうごにちです。

San-gatsu jūgo-nichi desu.

It is March 15th.

[MONTH] がつ [DATE] にちです。

[number] gatsu [number] nichi desu.

[month] -th month [day] -th day / it is

→ "It is [month]th month, [day]th day."

ともこ

もうすぐですね！なにかよていがありますか？

Mōsugu desu ne! Nanika yotei ga arimasu ka?

It's soon! Do you have any plans?

B — STANDARD · Scheduling a Meeting

やまだ

かいぎはなんがつなんにちですか？

Kaigi wa nan-gatsu nan-nichi desu ka?

What month and day is the meeting?

[NOUN] はなんがつなんにちですか？

[event] wa nan-gatsu nan-nichi desu ka?

[event] — what month, what day?

→ "What month and day is [event]?"

まつい

にがつとおかです。

Ni-gatsu tooka desu.

It is February 10th.

やまだ

わかりました。てちょうにかきます。

Wakarimashita. Techō ni kakimasu.

Got it. I'll write it in my planner.

C — CASUAL · Festival Plans

ゆうき

ねえ、フェスっていつ？

Nee, fesu tte itsu?

Hey, when is the festival?

[NOUN] っていつ？

[topic] tte itsu?

[topic] — when?

→ "When is [topic]?" — って is a casual topic marker replacing は

さくら

ごがつみっかだよ！

Go-gatsu mikka da yo!

It's May 3rd!

ゆうき

やった！もうすぐじゃん！

Yatta! Mōsugu jan!

Yes! It's almost here!

📋 Key Patterns & Cheatsheet ▼

Asking the month

🟢 STANDARD

なんがつですか？

Nan-gatsu desu ka?

What month is it?

Full polite question — ですか？ completes it.

🟡 CASUAL

なんがつ？

Nan-gatsu?

What month?

Drop everything after the key word. Rising intonation signals the question.

Stating a full date

STANDARD

[MONTH] がつ [DATE] にちです。

[number] gatsu [number] nichi desu.

→ e.g. さんがつじゅうごにちです。= "It is March 15th."

CASUAL

[MONTH] がつ [DATE] だよ！

[number] gatsu [number] da yo!

→ e.g. ごがつみっかだよ！= "It's May 3rd!"

Asking "When is [event]?"

🟢 STANDARD

[こと]はいつですか？

[koto] wa itsu desu ka?

When is [event]?

は marks the topic; いつですか？ asks when.

🟡 CASUAL

[こと]っていつ？

[koto] tte itsu?

When's [event]?

って replaces は as a casual topic marker.

Irregular date readings — 1st through 10th

📅 1st–5th

ついたち・ふつか・みっか・よっか・いつか

tsuitachi · futsuka · mikka · yokka · itsuka

1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th

Native Japanese (和語) readings — must be memorised.

📅 6th–10th + extras

むいか・なのか・ようか・ここのか・とおか／はつか

muika · nanoka · yōka · kokonoka · tooka / hatsuka

6th · 7th · 8th · 9th · 10th / 20th

Also: 14th = じゅうよっか, 24th = にじゅうよっか. Others use じゅう + number + にち.

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

tap to flip

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B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

C — Choose the Right Response

Listen to the question, then choose the most natural reply.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji. Japanese letters are not needed.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

E — Shadowing Practice

Press ▶ to hear each line, say it aloud, then mark it as practised.

0 of 9 lines practised

📖 Grammar Notes ▼

Month names — number + がつ

Japanese months are formed by attaching がつ (gatsu) to the Sino-Japanese number. There are no English-style names.

  • いちがつ (1月) January   • にがつ (2月) February   • さんがつ (3月) March
  • しがつ (4月) April   • ごがつ (5月) May   • ろくがつ (6月) June
  • しちがつ (7月) July   • はちがつ (8月) August   • くがつ (9月) September
  • じゅうがつ (10月) October   • じゅういちがつ (11月) November   • じゅうにがつ (12月) December

⚠️ Watch out: April = しがつ (not よんがつ), July = しちがつ (not なながつ), September = くがつ (not きゅうがつ).

[NUMBER] がつ

[number] gatsu

→ "[number]th month" = Japanese month name

きょうはろくがつです。

Kyō wa roku-gatsu desu.

Today is June.

Date readings — irregular 1st through 10th

The first ten days use native Japanese (和語) counting, not Sino-Japanese numbers. These are irregular and must be memorised.

• 1日ついたち • 2日ふつか • 3日みっか • 4日よっか • 5日いつか
• 6日むいか • 7日なのか • 8日ようか • 9日ここのか • 10日とおか

Also irregular: 14日じゅうよっか, 20日はつか, 24日にじゅうよっか.
All other dates: じゅう + number + にち (e.g. 11日 = じゅういちにち, 25日 = にじゅうごにち).

とおか

tooka

→ "10th" — native Japanese form, NOT じゅうにち

かいぎはにがつとおかです。

Kaigi wa ni-gatsu tooka desu.

The meeting is February 10th.

Asking "What month?" — なんがつ

なん (nan = what/which) + がつ forms the question word for "what month".

• Standard: なんがつですか？ — polite question
• Casual: なんがつ？ — rising intonation replaces ですか

なんがつですか？

Nan-gatsu desu ka?

→ "What month is it?" (polite)

たんじょうびはなんがつですか？

Tanjōbi wa nan-gatsu desu ka?

What month is your birthday?

Asking "What date?" — なんにち

なん + にち (nichi = day) forms the question word for "what day of the month".

• Standard: なんにちですか？
• Casual: なんにち？

To ask both month and day at once: なんがつなんにちですか？

なんがつなんにちですか？

nan-gatsu nan-nichi desu ka?

→ "What month and day is it?" — combined full-date question

フェスはなんがつなんにちですか？

Fesu wa nan-gatsu nan-nichi desu ka?

What month and day is the festival?

Casual topic marker — って (tte)

In casual speech, って (tte) replaces the topic particle は (wa). It has a slight quoting or emphasis nuance.

• Standard: フェスはいつですか？
• Casual: フェスっていつ？

って can also quote something you've heard: たなかさんってだれ？= "Who is this 'Tanaka-san'?"

[TOPIC] っていつ？

[topic] tte itsu?

→ "When is [topic]?" — casual register

パーティーっていつ？

Pātī tte itsu?

When's the party?

Expressing plans — よていがある

よてい (yotei = plan / schedule) + が + ある (to exist) naturally expresses "I have plans".

  • Standard: よていがありますか？ — "Do you have plans?"
  • Casual: よていある？ — "Got plans?"
  • With date: ～がつ～にちによていがあります — "I have plans on [date]."

なにかよていがありますか？

nanika yotei ga arimasu ka?

→ "Do you have any plans?" (standard)

たんじょうびになにかよていがありますか？

Tanjōbi ni nanika yotei ga arimasu ka?

Do you have any plans for your birthday?

📚 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
がつ	gatsu	month (counter)
にち	nichi	day / date (counter)
ついたち	tsuitachi	1st of the month
ふつか	futsuka	2nd
みっか	mikka	3rd
とおか	tooka	10th
はつか	hatsuka	20th
たんじょうび	tanjōbi	birthday
いつ	itsu	when
もうすぐ	mōsugu	soon / almost
よてい	yotei	plan / schedule
てちょう	techō	planner / diary
かいぎ	kaigi	meeting
フェス	fesu	festival (informal)
きせつ	kisetsu	season