Now that you know how to say specific times ("3 o'clock," "twenty minutes"), you also need words like "today," "tomorrow," "morning," and "evening." They're used constantly in daily conversation. The good news: there aren't many. The bad news: some readings are nothing like what the kanji suggest.
Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow
The three most basic ones:
| English | Japanese | Reading | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 今日 | きょう | Not こんにち |
| Tomorrow | 明日 | あした | Not あす (あす also works, but あした is more common in speech) |
| Yesterday | 昨日 | きのう | Not さくじつ |
All three use kun'yomi (native Japanese readings), not the on'yomi you might guess from the kanji. 今日 is きょう, not こんにち.
Day Before Yesterday / Day After Tomorrow
If you need to go further:
| English | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Day before yesterday | おととい | おととい |
| Day after tomorrow | あさって | あさって |
These are almost always written in kana only (though kanji forms 一昨日 and 明後日 exist). Just memorize the kana.
Parts of the Day
Japanese divides the day into several time slots, each with its own word:
| English | Japanese | Reading | Approximate time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning | 朝 | あさ | Sunrise to late morning |
| Noon/Daytime | 昼 | ひる | Around midday |
| Evening | 晩 | ばん | Dusk to bedtime |
| Night | 夜 | よる | After dark to late night |
What's the difference between 晩 and 夜?
- 晩 (ばん) leans toward "evening as a lifestyle block" — 昨日の晩 (last evening) means the period from dusk until you went to bed
- 夜 (よる) leans toward "nighttime as a physical reality" — 夜は暗いです (night is dark)
In practice they often overlap, but you say 晩ご飯 (dinner), never 夜ご飯.
午前・午後: AM and PM
| English | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AM (morning) | 午前 | ごぜん |
| PM (afternoon) | 午後 | ごご |
They go before the time, just like English "AM/PM":
午前八時です。 → It's 8 AM. 午後三時です。 → It's 3 PM.
Word order: 午前/午後 + time — same as English "AM 8 o'clock."
Combining Them
These time words can be combined with の:
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| 今日の朝 | This morning |
| 昨日の晩 | Last evening |
| 明日の午後 | Tomorrow afternoon |
They can also stand alone as a topic or time reference:
今日はいい天気です。 → The weather is nice today.
明日は学校があります。 → There's school tomorrow.
昨日は雨でした。 → It rained yesterday.
Note the でした in the last sentence — that's the past tense of です. Since we're talking about yesterday, past tense is required.
毎〜: Every Day, Every Morning
Add 毎 (まい) before these words to get "every ~":
| Japanese | Reading | English |
|---|---|---|
| 毎日 | まいにち | Every day |
| 毎朝 | まいあさ | Every morning |
| 毎晩 | まいばん | Every evening |
毎朝六時に起きます。 → I wake up at 6 every morning.
Summary
- Today/Tomorrow/Yesterday: 今日 (きょう), 明日 (あした), 昨日 (きのう) — all kun'yomi
- Parts of the day: 朝 (あさ), 昼 (ひる), 晩 (ばん), 夜 (よる)
- AM/PM: 午前 (ごぜん), 午後 (ごご) — placed before the time
- Add 毎 for "every ~": 毎日, 毎朝, 毎晩
Practice Questions
Q1. What does 「昨日の晩」 mean?
Show answer
Last evening / Yesterday evening.
昨日 (きのう) = yesterday, の = 's, 晩 (ばん) = evening.
Q2. Say "I wake up at 7 every morning" in Japanese.
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毎朝七時に起きます。 (まいあさしちじにおきます。)
毎朝 (every morning) + 七時 (7 o'clock) + に (at) + 起きます (wake up).
Q3. Is 「午後三時です」 AM or PM? What time?
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3 PM.
午後 (ごご) = PM/afternoon, 三時 (さんじ) = 3 o'clock.