日
日 in useful words
Learn the character in complete words, because its pronunciation can change with context. Read each word aloud, connect it with the meaning, and then cover the reading to test yourself.
- 休日きゅうじつ
- holiday; day off
- 今日きょう
- today; this day
- 先日せんじつ
- the other day; a few days ago
- 前日ぜんじつ
- previous day; day before; eve; prior day; preceding day
- 日中にっちゅう
- daytime; during the day
- 毎日まいにち
- every day; daily
Reading 日 in context
In 日曜日 (にちようび, Sunday), the first 日 is にち and the last is び. One word therefore demonstrates why a character does not have a single fixed pronunciation. Learn the whole word before trying to separate its readings.
Try it in a sentence
Practice sentence written for this site.
日曜日は休みです。
にちようびは やすみです。
Sunday is a day off.
Watch for this: 今日 (きょう, today) is a whole-word reading. Do not try to assemble it from the first readings listed for 今 and 日.
Practise this reading in the calendar lesson →Choose your next practice
For reading, cover a word’s pronunciation and recall it before checking. For handwriting, hide the stroke diagram and write the character from memory. An isolated reading list is a reference; the word determines which sound you need.