A) Relative time expressions

Click on the Japanese words to hear the pronunciation.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
15	16	17				21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31	1	2	3	4

B) Days of the Week

► げつようび		Monday
► かようび		Tuesday
► すいようび		Wednesday
► もくようび		Thursday
► きんようび		Friday
► どようび		Saturday
► にちようび		Sunday
► なんようび		What day of the week?

Friday is a 5-syllable word きんようび /ki-nn-yo-o-bi/, not a 4-syllable word with a glide (きにょうび /ki-nyo-o-bi/). なんようび /na-nn-yo-o-bi/ also has 5 syllables.

よう(び) refers to the day part of the days of the week. (び is optional. Both げつよう and げつようび refer to Monday.) The Japanese usually start counting the days of the week from Monday.

In contrast, days of the week are specific (i.e., absolute) time reference. That is, げつようび refers to the same day regardless of which day the speaker says げつようび during that week.

The relative time expressions can be combined with specific time expressions as shown below.

きょう（の） ３じ		3 o'clock today
あした（の） ９じ		9 o'clock tomorrow
こんしゅうの げつようび		this Monday (Monday of this week)
らいしゅうの げつようびの ９じ		9 o'clock next Monday (= Monday of next week)
こんどの にちようび		this coming Sunday

People have different ideas about にちようび--- whether it is the first day of the week or the last day of the week. Because of this, こんしゅうの にちようび can mean the last Sunday or upcoming Sunday. To avoid misunderstanding, you can say こんどの にちよう（び） upcoming Sunday.

C) Abbreviations for the Days of the Week

When the Japanese count days of the week, they often use the following abbreviated form. Click on the audio button below to listen to the days of the week without the suffix ようび. Utilize this system for easy memorization. Note the insertion of an extra vowel あ /a/ (after か) and お /o/ (after ど) to keep the even two-syllable sound rhythm for all days of the week. (When you type these words into the computer, do not use these extra vowels.)

► げつかあすいもくきんどおにち		Monday through Sunday
► げっすいきん		Monday, Wednesday, Friday
► かあもく		Tuesday, Thursday
► どにち or どおにち		Saturday, Sunday

The verbs introduced in Lesson 5 (Xにあります: "Something is located at X"; Xにいます: "Someone is located at X") can also be used to refer to a scheduled event. The particle に is used to refer to specific or absolute time when something is scheduled.

日本ごの クラスは げつようびに あります。
There is a Japanese class on Monday.

 

私はげっすいきんに オフィスに います。
I'm in my office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The particle に is NOT needed with relative time expressions (e.g., きょう, あした, あさって, こんばん, こんしゅう, らいしゅう, etc.) or repeated time expressions (e.g., まいにち, まいしゅう, etc.) or duration (length of time) expressions (e.g., 10じかん, etc.). (Note: ごご works both as a noun (afternoon) and as a prefix (ごご９じ: 9 p.m.), but ごぜん works only as a prefix (a.m.). To refer to the morning hours, use ごぜんちゅう.)

日本ごの クラスは まいにち あります。
We have a Japanese class every day.

 

日本ごの クラスは １じかん あります。
The Japanese class lasts one hour.

 

日本ごの クラスは あした あります。
We have a Japanese class tomorrow.

When various time expressions are combined, the time marker に is required if the last element of the time expression is the specific time:

ミーティングは あしたのごぜん９じに あります。
The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

 

日本ごの クラスは まいしゅう げっすいきんに あります。
The Japanese class is held on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, every week.

For あさ、ひる、ばん、ごぜんちゅう、ごご、しゅうまつ (or こんしゅうまつ), に is optional.

日本ごの クラスは あしたのあさ(に)あります。
There is a Japanese class tomorrow morning.

 

日本ごの クラスは きょうのごご(に) あります。
There is a Japanese class this afternoon.

 

We will now introduce a group of Japanese verbs that refer to activities that take place at certain time and location.

1. Verbs without a direct object

Initially, we will focus on activity verbs that do not take a direct object. These verbs include おきます (wake up), ねます (go to bed/sleep/lie down), and あそびます (have fun/hang out). Just like あります and います verbs we have seen above, the partile に is used to refer to specific or absolute time of activities. No particle is required to refer to duration, repeated or relative time of activities.

Topic/Subject だれが	Specific/Absolute Time なんじに／いつ	Verb
キムさんは	９じに	おきます。
Ms. Kim wakes up at nine o'clock.

 

Examples:

 

らいしゅうの げつようびに ３じかん あそびます。
I will have fun for three hours next Monday.

A:	まいにち なんじかん ねますか。		How many hours do you sleep every day?
B:	８じかん ねます。		I sleep for eight hours.

To refer to the location of activities, the particle で (e.g., こうえんで) is used instead of に. If someone does something with someone else, the particle と is used to mark the accompanying agent.

	Topic/Subject だれが	With whom だれと	Where どこで	Verb
	田中さんは	いぬと	こうえんで	あそびます。
Ms. Tanaka plays with the dog in the park.

Caution: The particle に can only refer to a place where something/someone is located and cannot refer to a place of activities. Thus, 田中さんは いぬと こうえんに あそびます is ungrammatical.

When answering negatively to Yes-No questions, the particle は is added to the particles に, で and と. (This usage of は will be explained more in details in JAPN 1002.)

A:		としょかん	で	ねますか。		Do you sleep at the library?
B:	いいえ、	としょかん	では	ねません。		No, I don't sleep at the library.
A:		７じ	に	おきますか。		Do you get up at 7 o'clock.
B:	いいえ、	７じ	には	おきません。		No, I don't get up at 7 o'clock.
A:		いぬ	と	あそびますか。		Do you play with the dog?
B:	いいえ、	いぬ	とは	あそびません。		No, I don't play with the dog.

 

2. Motion verbs

The motion verbs describe movement relative to a particular point of reference, often the speaker's current location. The verb いきます indicates movement away from the current location toward a different location. It implies that the subject is departing from the point of reference to go somewhere else ("X goes there").

In contrast, the verb きます signifies movement toward the current location or the point of reference. It is used when the subject is approaching or arriving at the location in focus, typically where the speaker is or where the conversation is centered ("X comes here"). Unlike the English verb "come," it is important to note that きます cannot be used to describe the speaker's own movement from the current location toward a different location because いきます is the verb to describe it.

The direction of coming and going is marked by the particle に (or へ pronounced as /e/, not /he/). If the time for いきます is mentioned, it can mean either the time of departure or the time of arrival depending on the context. If the time for きます is mentioned, it can only mean the time of arrival.

		Topic/Subject だれが	Time いつ／なんじに	Direction どこに／どこへ	Verb
	1.
		スミスさんは	９じに	がっこうに	いきます。
Mr. Smith goes to (i.e., leaves for/arrives at) school at 9.
	2.
		田中さんは	９じに	うちに	きます。
Mr. Tanaka comes to my house at 9.

When answering negatively to Yes-No questions, the particle は is added to the destination particles に and へ. (This usage of は will be explained further in JAPN 1002.)

A:		がっこう	に	いきますか。		Do you go to school?
B:	いいえ、	がっこう	には	いきません。		No, I don't go to school.
A:		６じ	に	かえりますか。		Do you go/come home at 6 o'clock?
B:	いいえ、	６じ	には	かえりません。		No, I don't go/come home at 6 o'clock.
A:		おふろ	に	はいりますか。		Do you take a bath?
B:	いいえ、	おふろ	には	はいりません。		No, I don't take a bath.

Note: The verb かえります means that you are "returning" to a place where you live. If you are returning to your own home, you should use かえります, not いきます.

うちに (or へ) かえります		I'm returning home.
うちに (or へ) いきます		Unacceptable if you are returning to your own home; Acceptable if you are going to someone else's home.

Motion verbs can also take a noun that expresses a purpose or reason for going (or coming) somewhere. The purpose is also marked by に.

Destinationに	Purposeに	Verb
デパートに	かいものに	いきます		I go to the department store for shopping.
がっこうに	日本ごのクラスに	いきます		I go to school for the Japanese class.
日本に	日本ごの べんきょうに	いきます		I go to Japan for the study of Japanese.
うちに	ひるごはんに	かえります		I go home for lunch.
こうえんに	さんぽに	いきます		I go to the park for walk.
スーパーに	アルバイトに	いきます		I go to the supermarket for part-time job.
プールに	すいえいに	いきます		I go to the swimming pool for swimming.

3. Verbs with a direct object

Common action verbs (e.g., eating, drinking, doing, etc.) take a direct object. The direct object the subject acts upon is marked by the particle を (pronounced as /o/). Other parts of speech can be added as shown below.

Topic/Subject だれが	Time なんじに or いつ	With whom だれと	Where どこで	What なにを	Verb
スミスさんは	３じに	田中さんと	アパートで	おんがくを	ききます。
Mr. Smith listens to music at his apartment with Mr. Tanaka at three o'clock.

When answering negatively to Yes-No questions, the particle は is usually used. When は is used, it replaces the particle を, but it is added to the other particles as shown below. (This usage of は will be explained further in JAPN 1002.)

A:		ばんごはん	を	たべますか。		Do you eat dinner?
B:	いいえ、	ばんごはん	は	たべません。		No, I don't eat dinner.
A:		うち	で	たべますか。		Do you eat at home?
B:	いいえ、	うち	では	たべません。		No, I don't eat at home.
A:		６じ	に	たべますか。		Do you eat at six?
B:	いいえ、	６じ	には	たべません。		No, I don't eat at six.
A:		スミスさん	と	たべますか。		Do you eat with Mr. Smith?
B:	いいえ、	スミスさん	とは	たべません。		No, I don't eat with Mr. Smith.

Like other verbs, to express the duration of actions, no particle is required. To reply negatively to a Yes-No question, は is added as shown below.

A:		１じかん		べんきょうしますか。		Do you study for an hour?
B:	いいえ、	１じかん	は	べんきょうしません。		No, I don't study for an hour..

Frequency expressions can be combined with verbs without particles. The following are common frequency expressions used in an affirmative sentence.

 

A:	コーヒーを のみますか。		Do you drink coffee?
B:	ええ、ときどき のみます。		Yes, I sometimes drink it.
	ええ、よく のみます。		Yes, I often drink it.
	ええ、たいてい のみます。		Yes, I usually drink it.
	ええ、いつも のみます。		Yes, I always drink it.
	ええ、まいにち のみます。		Yes, I drink it everyday.

The verb します (do) can be added to a noun (テニス) and produce a new verb (テニスします). The direct object marker を can also be inserted after テニス.

テニス(を)します		to play tennis
べんきょう(を)します		to study

Caution: Verbs can take only one direct object. The second sentence below has two を-marked direct objects and is ungrammatical.

にほんごを べんきょうします。		to study Japanese (language)
にほんごを べんきょうを します。		[ungrammatical]

The last sentence above can be corrected as follows:

にほんごの べんきょうを します。

I study Japanese. (Lit. I do the study of Japanese.)

The following are commonly used frequency expressions that MUST be combined with negative expressions.

 

A:	こうえんで あそびますか。		Do you play at the park?
B:	いいえ、ぜんぜん あそびません。		No, I don't play there at all.
	いいえ、あまり あそびません。		No, I don't play there very often.

Here is the summary of all frequency expressions introduced so far. The frequency words to the left of the blue line require a negative ending verbs while those to the right of the blue line are normally followed by affirmative ending verbs.

 

A:	こうえんで あそびますか。		Do you play at the park?
B:	いいえ、ぜんぜん あそびません。		No, I don't play there at all.
	いいえ、あまり あそびません。		No, I don't play there very often.
	ええ、ときどき あそびます。		Yes, I sometimes play there.
	ええ、よく あそびます。		Yes, I often play there.
	ええ、たいてい あそびます。		Yes, I usually play there.
	ええ、いつも あそびます。		Yes, I always play there.
	ええ、まいにち あそびます。		Yes, I play there everyday.

FYI: If the frequency words normally combined with affirmative verbs are combined with negative verbs, the resulting interpretations are similar to "comma" interpretations in English as shown below.

ときどき いきません。		Sometimes, I don't go there.
よく いきません。		Often, I don't go there.
たいてい いきません。		Usually, I don't go there.
いつも いきません。		Always, I don't go there.
まいにち いきません。		Everyday, I don't go there.

Note: By inserting the contrast particle は, you can create partial negations for some frequency expressions.

いつもは いきません。		I don't always go there. [Implication: I go there---but not always.]
まいにちは いきません。		I don't go there everyday. [Implication: I go there---but not everyday.]

Earlier, we learned that そうですね（え） with a falling intonation is a confirmation That is right. This expression is also used as a conversational filler (Well...) to buy time before answering a question. It is similar to ええっとですね（え） (Let me see..). Don't confuse this with an affirmative answer (Yes, that's right).

FYI: It is said many public figures in Japan such as celebrities, politicians, etc. frequently respond with そうですね as the first utterance during an interview regardless of the question they are asked.