Most of Japanese number reading is regular, until you reach dates and times. Suddenly 一日 is not いちにち in a date, 四時 is not よんじ, and 九月 is not きゅうがつ. These readings are common at N5, appear in listening questions, and are easy to get wrong when you are under pressure.
The list is short enough to memorize completely. Here it is.
Months: three to watch
Months are regular (number + がつ) except for these:
| Month | Reading | Not |
|---|---|---|
| 四月 | しがつ | よんがつ |
| 七月 | しちがつ | ななつき |
| 九月 | くがつ | きゅうがつ |
The other nine are regular: いちがつ, にがつ, さんがつ, ごがつ, ろくがつ, はちがつ, じゅうがつ, じゅういちがつ, じゅうにがつ.
Days of the month: the first ten and a few more
Days one through ten use native Japanese readings, and several others are irregular too.
| Day | Reading |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| 14日 | じゅうよっか |
| 20日 | はつか |
| 24日 | にじゅうよっか |
Other days are regular: 十一日 じゅういちにち, 十五日 じゅうごにち, 二十一日 にじゅういちにち, 三十一日 さんじゅういちにち. Note that the 14th and 24th follow the よっか pattern, and 20th has its own reading, はつか.
Times: the hours
Hours are number + じ. Three are irregular:
| Hour | Reading | Not |
|---|---|---|
| 四時 | よじ | よんじ |
| 七時 | しちじ | ななじ |
| 九時 | くじ | きゅうじ |
Minutes use ふん or ぷん, depending on the number:
- 一分 いっぷん, 二分 にふん, 三分 さんぷん, 四分 よんぷん, 五分 ごふん
- 六分 ろっぷん, 七分 ななふん, 八分 はっぷん, 九分 きゅうふん, 十分 じゅっぷん
You will notice the same sound-change pattern as with counters; see Japanese counters for beginners for the general logic of the small っ and p-sounds.
Days of the week
These are regular and follow the elements: 月曜日 (げつようび), 火曜日 (かようび), 水曜日 (すいようび), 木曜日 (もくようび), 金曜日 (きんようび), 土曜日 (どようび), 日曜日 (にちようび). The readings of the kanji 月, 火, 水, 木, 金, 土, 日 are on'yomi in this context. If the pattern is confusing, read on'yomi vs kun'yomi.
The date order
Japanese dates go from largest to smallest: year, month, day, then weekday.
- 二〇二六年十一月四日(水)— Wednesday, November 4, 2026
- 十一月四日 — November 4
A method to memorize it
- Group by difficulty. Learn the three months and the three hours together as "the shi-shichi-ku exceptions": 四, 七, 九 are special in both months and hours.
- Chant the first ten days. ついたち, ふつか, みっか, よっか, いつか, むいか, なのか, ようか, ここのか, とおか. Rhythm helps more than writing.
- Attach real dates. Say your birthday, today's date, and tomorrow's date aloud, in Japanese, every day.
- Review with spaced repetition. Put each exception on a card, with the English on one side and the reading on the other. See spaced repetition for JLPT vocabulary and kanji.
Where this shows up on the exam
- Vocabulary questions ask you to choose the reading for a kanji word like 二十日 or 四月.
- Listening questions speak dates and times quickly, and the answer depends on catching the number correctly.
- Reading passages include schedules, notices, and timetables.
A common mistake is mishearing the day: ようか (8th) and よっか (4th) sound close, and so do いつか (5th) and むいか (6th) when spoken fast. Practicing with audio helps; shadowing is a good technique.
For the broader N5 scope, the JLPT N5 grammar checklist and the JLPT preparation guide show where this fits. JLPT Ready's Learn section presents vocabulary with plain-language explanations and links each item to the practice questions that test it. You can start free with N5, no card required.