Sunday, March 12, 2017

Japanese Date Format

In Japanese, dates are written in year, month, day order (year first, day last), e.g. 2000年12月31日 means year 2000, month 12, day 31, therefore 11/10/09 would be year 2011, month 10 (October), day 9. This is different from the date format typically used in English-speaking countries. Compare:

Language Date format Spoken
Japanese YYYY-MM-DD
2000/12/31
ni-sen-nen,
juu-ni-gatsu,
san-juu-ichi-nichi

2000年12月31日
Year 2000,
month 12,
day 31.
British
English
DD-MM-YYYY
31/12/2000
Thirty-first of December, 2000.
31st of December, 2000.
American
English
MM-DD-YYYY
12/31/2000
December thirty-first, 2000.
December 31st, 2000.

Besides the order, the way Japanese dates are written also has some other peculiarities that we'll see through this article.

Diagram describing the Japanese date format.

Usage

Dates in Japanese are written and spoken using numbers (ichi, ni, san 一二三) and the counters for "year," "month," and "day," in this order, which respectively would be ~nen ~年, ~gatsu ~月, and ~nichi ~日 (or ~ka 日). For example:

  • ni-sen-nen juu-ni-gatsu san-juu-ichi-nichi
    2000年12月31日
    Year 2000, month 12, day 31.

Separators

Typically, slashes are used to separate the year, month, and day in Japanese dates. Besides slashes, dots and hyphens may be used as well.

Separator Slashes Dots Hyphens
With four-digit year 2000/12/31
2022/02/22
2022/2/22
2000.12.31
2022.02.22
2222.2.22
2000-12-31
2022-02-22
2022-2-22
With two-digit year 00/12/31
22/02/22
22/2/22
00.12.31
22.02.22
22.2.22
00-12-31
22-02-22
22-2-22

Kanji Numbers

It's possible for the number of the year, month, and day of a date to be written as the Japanese word for the number, using kanji, for example, rather than using the number's representation in Arabic numerals.

  • ni-sen-nen, juu-ni-gatsu, san-juu-ichi-nichi
    二千年十二月三十一日
    Year two-thousand, month ten-two, day three-ten-one.
    Year 2000, month 12, day 31.

Kanji Digits

It's possible for the number of the year, month, and day of a date to be written using kanji by replacing the digits of the number that would be written using Arabic numerals by the equivalent kanji. There are kanji for the numbers 1 to 9 (一二三四五六七八九), but not for 0, so a circle (small ○ or large ◯) is used for 0 instead, which may be read out loud as maru 丸, "circle."

  • ni-maru-maru-maru-nen ichi-ni-gatsu san-ichi-nichi
    二◯◯◯年一二月三一日
    Year two-zero-zero-zero, month one-two, day three-one.
    Year 2000, month 12, day 31.

Partial Dates

Dates don't necessarily need to include year, month, and day. Some dates are only year and month, some are only month and day. For example:

  • jyuu-gatsu san-jyuu-ichi-nichi
    10月31日
    10/31. (slash separator)
    10.31. (dot separator.)
    Month 10, day 31.
    31st of October.
    Date of Halloween.
  • jyuu-ni-gatsu ni-jyuu-go-nichi
    12月25日
    12/25. (slash separator.)
    12.25. (dot separator.)
    Month 12, day 25.
    25th of December.
    Date of Christmas.

Japanese Eras Instead of Gregorian Year

Sometimes the year of a Japanese era is used instead of a year according to the Gregorian calendar. For example, the Heisei 平成 era began in 1989 and lasted until 2019, therefore:

  • heisei juu-ni-nen
    平成12年
    Twelfth year of the Heisei era.
    Year 2000. 2000 A.D. 2000 C.E.

This means 平成12年12月31日 and 2000年12月31日 refer to the same date.

The Gregorian year is based on the year of Jesus Christ's birth, A.D. meaning "anno domini" (in the year of our loud), and B.C. for negative year numbers meaning "before Christ." Japanese years are somewhat based on imperial eras, with some of them end with the death of an emperor. Nowadays, the Gregorian calendar is used globally, including by countries that don't consider Christ their lord, so the acronyms C.E. and B.C.E. are sometimes used instead for "common era" and "before common era."

The terms wareki 和暦 and seireki 西暦 refer to Japanese and Western calendars, respectively.

The word gan'nen 元年, literally "origin year," refers to the first year (1年) of an era and may be used as part of a date.

  • 平成元年12月31日 and 1989年12月31日 refer to the same date.

Eras may begin and end in the middle of years. The last year of Heisei is the 31st, and then Reiwa 令和 begins, but the Reiwa era only begins in 1st of May of 2019. From January to April of 2019, it's not Reiwa yet.(mynavi-agent.jp:履歴書の年号の書き方やルール)

  • heisei san-juu-ichi-nen shi-gatsu san-juu-nichi
    平成31年4月30日
    31st year of the Heisei era, month 4, day 30.
    30 of April, 2019.
  • Reiwa gan'nen go-gatsu tsuitachi
    令和元年5月1日
    Origin year of the Reiwa era, month 5, day 1.
    1 of May, 2019.

The Japanese years were more common in the past before the globalization of Japan. They're still used, e.g. ceremonially and in documents, but nowadays Gregorian years are more common.

Naturally there was a generation of people who were born using Japanese years and had trouble adapting to such changes, doing stuff like:

  • Saying dates, like their birth year, in Japanese years.
  • Writing Japanese years when people expected Gregorian ones.
  • Having trouble figuring out what year a Gregorian year is supposed to be.
  • Having trouble converting one year to the other.

And so on. Could be some plot point in some manga or anime out there, like you have a character that looks young but is actually old as hinted, among other things, by their use of old-fashioned Japanese years or trouble reading Gregorian ones.

Anime: KADO: The Right Answer, Seikai suru Kado 正解するカド (Episode 1)
  • Context: someone types a date.
  • Heisei ni...
    平成2
    Heisei era, year 2...
  • *backspace*
  • ni-sen-juu-nana-nen shichi-gatsu ni-juu-go-nichi
    2017年7月25日
    25 of July of 2017. (also known as Heisei year 29).

Parentheses After Date

A kanji enclosed by parentheses after a date typically refers to the weekday that date falls in, e.g.:

  • 2000年01月01日(土)
    Year 2000, month 1, day 1, which is a doyoubi 曜日, "Saturday."
  • 2000年01月02日(日)
    Year 2000, month 1, day 2, which is a nichiyoubi 曜日, "Sunday."

So it's like writing (sat) for Saturday or (sun) for Sunday. It's an abbreviated way of writing the weekday.

nichi-youbi
(日)曜日
Sunday.
getsu-youbi
(月)曜日
Monday.
ka-youbi
(火)曜日
Tuesday.
sui-youbi
(水)曜日
Wednesday.
moku-youbi
(木)曜日
Thursday.
kin-youbi
(金)曜日
Friday.
do-youbi
(土)曜日
Saturday.

For reference, an example:

ポプ子 「カベドンしてェ❤」
Anime: Pop Team Epic, Poputepipikku ポプテピピック (Episode 4, Collage)
  • Context: on the top-right corner, it reads: year 2014, month 11, day 28, a "Wednesday," suiyoubi 水曜日.
  • Popuko "Kabedon shitee ❤"
    ポプ 「カベドンし❤」
    Popuko: "do a kabedon [on me] ❤"

X's, Circles, and Triangles in Dates

Sometimes you may see X marks, circle marks, and triangle marks in a date in Japanese, specially in manga and anime. These marks are placeholders used when a specific number isn't important or, in examples, where there are no specific numbers to begin with.

The circle and the X being used as placeholders for a date (maru-gatsu batsu-hi ○月×日, "month X, day Y"), and then an X gesture being used to say "no," in the context that they can't go somewhere on a certain date, that that date is "no good," dame 駄目, for them.
Manga: Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! 宇崎ちゃんは遊びたい! (Chapter 2, 後輩と映画館)
  • Context: Uzaki-chan explains that sometimes someone wants to do something in a certain date (literally month "circle" day "X"), and that's not a date she's okay with, so she refuses (here shown crossing her arms in an X, a gesture of rejection).
    • ○月×日, i.e. month circle day X, could be any date. It's just there to say the other character said SOME date without specifying a specific date.
本人ですか?顔!うp!! 名無しさん@おーぷん 殺してみるバァーーーーーーーーッカ wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww 警察ここ見てるー? おいコラ 殺人鬼 はよ自首しろ クソガキが にちゃんねる 終了ーーwwwwwwwwwww
Anime: Inuyashiki いぬやしき (Episode 6)
  • Context: a well-known murderer tells an anonymous bulletin board that he's gonna kill everyone in that thread.
  • hon'nin desu ka? kao! up!!
    ですか?顔!うp!!
    Are [you] [the murderer himself]? [Your] face! Upload it!
    • hon'nin - the person themselves, as opposed to someone speaking in their behalf.
  • nanashi-san atto oopun
    名無しさん@おーぷん
    Anon @ open.
    • Open probably refers to open 2 channel, おーぷん2ちゃんねる, a bulletin board based on 2ch (2channel).
    • The incrementing numbers 193, 194, 195, 197, 197, and so on at the left side of each response is the identifier used to cite what a previous user posted.
    • The 2017/11/×× is the date. Note that the day is unspecified, with with two x's written instead.
  • koroshite-miru baaaaaaaaaakka
    殺してみるバァーーーーーーーーッカ
    Try killing [me], stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupid.
  • wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
    wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
    *laughs anonymously.*
  • keisatsu koko miteruu?
    警察ここ見てるー?
    Police, are [you] seeing [this]?
  • oi kora, satsujinki, hayo jishu shiro
    おいコラ 殺人鬼 はよ自首しろ
    Hey, murderer, go surrender yourself already.
    • hayo - synonymous with hayaku 早く, "quickly."
  • kuso-gaki ga
    クソガキが
    [You brat].
  • nichan'neru shuuryouuu wwwwwwwwwww
    にちゃんねる 終了ーーwwwwwwwwwww
    2channel is finisheeed, lolololololololololol.

Vocabulary

For reference, some relevant words:

  • hidsuke
    日付
    The date on the calendar.
  • nengappi
    年月日
    A date.
    Year, month, day.
    • seinengappi
      生年月日
      Birth date.
  • nengatsu
    年月
    Years and months. (as in the passing of time.)
    Year and month. (as in a partial date without specific day)
    • toshi-tsuki
      年月
      Years and months. (passing of time only.)
  • gappi
    月日
    Month and day. (date only.)
    • tsuki-hi
      月日
      Months and days. (passing of time only.)
      The Moon and the Sun.
  • tsuki

    The Moon.
  • hi

    The Sun.
    A day.
    • haha no hi
      母の日
      Mother's day.
  • kinenbi
    記念日
    Commemorative day. A day in which you celebrate something, e.g. an anniversary of something.
    • kinen-shashin
      記念写真
      Commemorative photo. A photo taken to record some occassion.

How to Say the Words for Years, Months, and Days

It's possible to use the counters for years, months, and days to refer to just the year, month, or day alone, without any other part of the date.

  • ni-sen-nen
    2000年
    The year two thousand.
  • juu-ni-gatsu
    12月
    Month 12.
    December.
  • san-juu-ichi-nichi
    31日
    Day 31 of some month.

The words for months in Japanese are all pretty straightforward: just a number (specifically the on'yomi 音読み reading of the kanji, e.g. ichi, ni, san...) plus the ~gatsu morpheme. Beware the 9th month is read ku-gatsu, not kyuu-gatsu.(coelang.tufs.ac.jp)

Month Name In Japanese romaji
January 一月いちがつ or 1月 ichigatsu
February 二月にがつ or 2月 nigatsu
March 三月さんがつ or 3月 sangatsu
April 四月しがつ or 4月 shigatsu
May 五月ごがつ or 5月 gogatsu
June 六月ろくがつ or 6月 rokugatsu
July 七月しちがつ or 7月 shichigatsu
August 八月はちがつ or 8月 hachigatu
September 九月くがつ or 9月 kugatsu
October 十月じゅうがつ or 10月 juugatsu
November 十一月じゅういちがつ or 11月 juuichigatsu
December 十二月じゅうにがつ or 12月 juunigatsu

For years, too, pretty straightforward, just beware that "year one thousand" is sen-nen 千年, not issen-nen 一千年, this includes when talking about 1999, 1998, etc. Similarly, "year one hundred" is hyaku-nen 百年, not ippyaku-nen 一百年.

The words for days are complicated. The first day of the month has its own word: tsuitachi 朔日 (normally spelled 1日). Days 2 to 10 are said using the kun'yomi 訓読み reading (hito~, fu~, mi~) together with a ~ka ~日 suffix. Days 11 and up use MOSTLY the on'yomi with ~nichi ~日. Days 14 and 24 use a mix of on-kun ending in the kun reading ~yokka ~4日, probably because if it was the on reading shi-nichi 4日 it would sound too similar to shichi-nichi 7日. Day 20 has its own reading: hatsuka. Incidentally, 10, 20, and 30 are supposed to be tooka, hatsuka, and misoka, respectively, but for some reason people don't use misoka. Finally, days 19 and 29 are read ending in ~ku-nichi ~9日, not ~kyuu-nichi. For reference, a table:(coelang.tufs.ac.jp)

tsuitachi
1日ついたち
juu-ichi-nichi
11じゅういち
ni-juu-ichi-nichi
21にじゅういち
futsuka
ふつ
juu-ni-nichi
12じゅうに
ni-juu-ni-nichi
22にじゅうに
mikka
みっ
juu-san-nichi
13じゅうさん
ni-juu-san-nichi
23にじゅうさん
yokka
よっ
juu-yokka
14日じゅうよっか
ni-juu-yokka
24日にじゅうよっか
itsuka
いつ
juu-go-nichi
15じゅうご
ni-juu-go-nichi
25にじゅうご
muika
むい
juu-roku-nichi
16じゅうろく
ni-juu-roku-nichi
26にじゅうろく
nanoka
なの
juu-shichi-nichi
17じゅうしち
ni-juu-shichi-nichi
27にじゅうしち
youka
よう
juu-hachi-nichi
18じゅうはち
ni-juu-hachi-nichi
28にじゅうはち
kokonoka
ここの
juu-ku-nichi
19じゅうく
ni-juu-ku-nichi
29にじゅうく
tooka
10とお
hatsuka
20日はつか
san-juu-nichi
30さんじゅう
san-juu-ichi-nichi
31さんじゅういち

Beware of some words related to dates that aren't about the date on the calendar, e.g.:

  • shonichi
    初日
    First day.
    • Not the first day of the month, the first day of something.
    • gakkou shonichi
      学校初日
      The first day of school.
  • saishuubi
    最終日
    Last day.

Also:

  • shougatsu
    正月
    New year.
    • Although this ends in ~gatsu, it typically refers to the first three days of a new year.

Interrogatives

It's possible to ask a question about a date by combining the counters for date parts with nani 何, just as you could with any other counter.

  • kyou wa nan-gatsu nan-nichi?
    今日は何月何日?
    Today is what-month, what-day?
    What's today's date?
    • A normal way to ask the day.
  • sore wa nan-nen, nan-gatsu, nan-nichi?
    それは何年、何月、何日?
    That's what-year, what-month, what-day?
    What year, month, and day [did that happen]?
    • A phrase generally used in comedic effect to ask about an event in ridiculous detail.

Alternatively:

  • sore wa itsu?
    それはいつ
    When is that?

These interrogatives can combine with the ka か particle and the mo も particle:

  • nan-nen ka wasureta
    何年忘れた
    [I] forgot what year [it was].
  • nan-nen mo mae

    An amount (no idea exactly, but lots) of years ago.
    Many years ago.

Date Ranges

It's possible to refer to a date range using the particles "from," kara から, and "until," made まで.

  • ni-gatsu kara roku-gatsu made
    2月から6月まで
    From month two until month six.
    From February to June.

Note that to express lengths of time, it varies:

  • mikka-kan
    3日
    A span of time of three days.
  • yokkagetsu
    (or 4箇月)
    Four months.
    • ~getsu, not ~gatsu.
  • ni-nen-kan
    2年
    A span of time of a two years.
  • isshou
    一生
    One's entire life. (has nothing to do with dates.)
  • eien ni
    永遠に
    Eternally. (also has nothing to do with dates.)

Cyclic Dates

To say "every" year, month, or day, the prefix mai~ 毎~ is used, forming the following words:

  • mai-nichi
    毎日
    Every day.
    • mai-asa
      毎朝
      Every morning.
    • mai-ban
      毎晩
      Every night.
  • mai-shuu
    毎週
    Every week.
    • mai-shuumatsu
      毎週末
      Every weekend.
  • mai-tsuki
    毎月
    Every month.
    • mai-tsuki dai-ni doyoubi
      毎月第2土曜日
      Every month, the second Saturday.
      The second Saturday of every month.
  • mai-toshi
    毎年
    Every year.

To say "every N" days, months, or years, the suffix ~goto ~毎 is used. The phrase ~oki ni ~おきに has a similar meaning, too.

  • futsuka-goto
    2日毎
    Every two days.
  • mikka-oki ni
    3日おきに
    Putting three days between.
    Every four days.

For "every N days X things," the ni に particle is used with a length of time, essentially forming a temporal adverb. The rest of the sentence can be pretty much anything.

  • ichi-nichi ni ikkai
    一日に一回
    One time every one day.
    Once per day.
    • ikkai
      一回
      Once.
  • nikagetsu ni hon wo san-satsu yomu
    二ヶ月に本を3冊読む
    To read three books every two months.
    • hon wo san-satsu yomu
      本を3冊読む
      To read three books.

~号

Magazines published weekly or monthly may be referred by their issue "number," ~gou ~号, right after the year, which looks like a date, but isn't really.

  • Shuukan Shounen Janpu
    sen-kyuu-hyaku-kyuu-juu-kyuu-nen
    yon-juu-san-gou

    週刊少年ジャンプ1999年43号
    Weekly Shounen Jump, year 1999, issue 43.
    • Since this is a weekly magazine, there are up as many issues in a year as there would be weeks in a year (52 weeks, 52 issues).
    • Incidentally, this is the issue in which Naruto ナルト was first serialized.

Commemorative Dates Based on Wordplay

There is a form of wordplay involving dates in Japanese in which a month and day is said to commemorate something if the numbers spell a word (also known as goroawase 語呂合わせ).

For reference, some examples:(mostly from ffortune.net:語呂合わせの日)

Date Commemoration Translation Note
毎月12日
12th of
every month
toufu no hi
豆腐の日
Tofu's day.
too 10, futatsu 2つ.
毎月15日
15th of
every month
ichigo no hi
苺の日
Strawberry's day.
ichi 1, go 5.
毎月22日
22nd of
every month
fuufu no hi
夫婦の日
Husband &
Wife's Day
futatsu 2つ, twice.
毎月26日
26th of
every month
furo no hi
風呂の日
Bath's day.
futatsu 2つ, roku 6.
毎月28日
28th of
every month
niwatori no hi
鶏の日
Chicken's Day.
ni 2, hachi 8.
Historically, ha は and wa
have similar pronunciations.
毎月29日
29th of
every month
niku no hi
肉の日
Meat's Day.
ni 2, ku 9.
1月5日
1st of January
igo no hi
囲碁の日
Go's Day.
ichi 1, go 5.
As in the board game Go.
ichigo no hi
苺の日
Strawberry's Day.
ichi 1, go 5.
2月9日
9th of
February
fugu no hi
河豚の日
Puffer Fish's Day.
futatsu 2つ, ku 9.
ku く with diacritic
becomes gu ぐ.
niku no hi
肉の日
Meat's Day.
ni 2, ku 9.
2月10日
10th of
February
niito no hi
ニートの日
NEET's Day.
ni 2, too 10.
futon no hi
布団の日
Blanket's Day.
futatsu 2つ, too 10.
2月22日
22nd of
February
neko no hi
猫の日
Cat's Day.
ni, ni, ni 222, because
nya, nya, nya ニャニャニャ,
"meow, meow, meow."
3月5日
5th of
March
sango no hi
珊瑚の日
Coral's Day.
san 3, go 5.
3月8日
8th of
March
mitsubachi no hi
蜜蜂の日
Honeybee's Day.
mittsu 3つ, hachi 8.
3月9日
9th of
March
arigatou no hi
ありがとうの日
Thank You's Day.
Gratitude Day.
san 3, kyuu 9.
sankyuu サンキュー
katakanization of "thank you."
3月13日
13th of
March
sandoicchi no hi
サンドイッチの日
Sandwich's Day.
sandoicchi dee
サンドイッチデー
(same meaning.)
san, ichi, san 313, so
ichi wo san de sando
1を3でサンド(nansuka.jp)
To sandwich 1 with 3's.
3月27日
27th of
March
sakura no hi
桜の日
Sakura's Day.
3 times 9 is 27.
san 3, ku 9.
sakura is a flower tree,
the "cherry blossom," which
blooms around this date,
at the end of March.(i879.com)
4月6日
6th of
April
shiro no hi
城の日
Castle's Day.
shi 4, roku 6.
5月10日
5th of
May
meido no hi
メイドの日
Maid's Day
mei メイ, "May," plus
do ど form too とお, "10."
Maid in the sense of
moe anime.(dic.nicovideo.jp)
5月29日
29th of
May
kon'nyaku no hi
こんにゃくの日
Konjac's Day.
kokonotsu 9つ, ni 2, ku 9.
Konjac is a food,
a plant like potato.
6月4日
4th of
June
mushi no hi
虫の日
Bug's Day.
Insect's Day.
muttsu 6つ, shi 4.
mushiba yobou dee
虫歯予防デー
Dental Caries
Prevention Day.
6月16日
16th of
June
mujuuryoku no hi
無重力の日
Zero-Gravity Day.
muttsu 6つ, juuroku 16.
6月26日
26th of
June
rotenburo no hi
露天風呂の日
Open-Air Bath Day.
6.26: roku, ten, futatsu, roku
ten 点 being "dot."
7月3日
3rd of
July
nami no hi
波の日
Wave's Day.
saafaa dee
サーファーデー
Surfer's Day.
nana 7, mittsu3つ.
7月25日
25th of
July
kakigoori no hi
かき氷の日
Shave Ice's Day.
nana 7, tsuu 2, go
natsu-goori 夏氷,
"Summer Ice,"
another name for kakigoori,
a sort of ice dessert.
7月27日
27th of
July
suika no hi
スイカの日
Watermelon Day.
tsuu 2, nana 7.
tsuna-moyou 綱模様,
"rope pattern," which is
found in watermelons,
which are eaten in Summer,
which is around this date.
8月1日
1st of
August
maajan no hi
麻雀の日
Mahjong's Day.
hachi 8, ichi
hai はい becomes pai ぱい
pai 牌, "tile," with mahjong
being a game played
using tiles.
8月2日
2nd of
August
pantsu no hi
パンツの日
Pants' Day.
hachi 8, tsuu 2.
ha は becomes pa ぱ.
8月3日
3rd of
August
hachimitsu no hi
蜂蜜の日
Honey's Day.
hachi 8, mittsu 3つ
hasami no hi
ハサミの日
Scissor's Day
8月7日
7th of
August
hana no hi
花の日
Flower's Day.
hachi 8, nana 7.
hana no hi
鼻の日
Nose's Day.
banana no hi
バナナの日
Banana's Day.
Same as above,
ha は becomes ba ば.
8月8日
8th of
August
warai no hi
笑いの日
Laugh's Day.
hachi 8, hachi
ha'ha' ハッハッ, a laugh.
8月29日
29th of
August
yakiniku no hi
焼き肉の日
Fried Chicken Day.
Fried "Meat" Day.

yattsu 8つ, ni 2, ku 9.
9月3日
3rd of
September
kusa-yakyuu no hi
草野球の日
Grass Baseball Day.
ku 9, san3.
Grass here refers to a
grass lot where amateur
baseball players go play.
10月2日
2nd of
October
toufu no hi
豆腐の日
Tofu's Day
too 10, futatsu 2つ.
10月3日
3rd of
October
tozan no hi
登山の日
Mountain-Climbing Day.
too 10, san 3.
sa さ becomes za ざ.
10月4日
4th of
October
iwashi no hi
いわしの日
Pilchard's Day.
Sardine's Day.
ichi 1, wa 0, shi 4.
wa 輪, "ring," 0's shape.
10月第1土
First Saturday
of October
tsuchi no hi
土の日
Soil's Day.
juu 十, ichi
together form tsuchi 土.
10月8日
8th of
October
ki no hi
木の日
Tree's Day.
juu 十, hachi
together form 木.
10月20日
20th of
October
risaikuru no hi
リサイクルの日
Recycle's Day.
Recycling Day.
From zero's shape:
hitomawari-futamawari
ひと回りふた回り
1 lap, 2 laps,
likely in the sense of
going around once, twice,
over and over again.
11月1日
1st of
November
inu no hi
犬の日
Dog's Day.
wan, wan, wan 111
"woof, woof, woof."
11月11日
11th of
November.
sakkaa no hi
サーカーの日
Soccer's Day.
11 vs. 11,
because each team has
11 players in soccer.
12月3日
3rd of
December.
tejina no hi
手品の日
Magic Trick's Day.
One, two, three!

Why The Japanese Date Format is Best Date Format

The Japanese date format is surprisingly the best date format there is.

I say surprisingly because in general Japanese makes absolutely no sense and it's just a chaos of a language, but at least the dates it got right.

It only looks different from an American date format perspective because the American date formal is imperial units levels of wrong.

Allow me to explain: when writing a number, you want the order of the digits to be the most significant digit first and the least significant digit last.

For example, in 123, the digit 1 represents a bigger number than the digit 2 because it comes first. That 1 represents 100, while 2 only represents 20. And 3 is just 3. So if 1 changes, if the first digit changes, a LOT changes, but if 3 changes, if the last digit changes, then very little changes. Similarly:

Numerical value Parts Order of parts
2000-12-31 Year, month, date. Biggest, big, small.
23:59:59 Hour, minute, second. Biggest, big, small.
5' 10" Feet, inches. Big, small.

Now in some parts of the world dates are written with the insignificant, err, the least significant parts first, like 31st of December. Why does the day come first?

Well, probably because the month is less likely to change. You probably know what month it is right now, right? If you had an appointment within the next 5 days, that's probably going to be in the same month as this one, could be the next month, but most likely it's same month. Consequently, in practice, the part people care most about most of the time in a date is the day part, which is least significant numerically-speaking.

Then comes America and just has this nonsensical month-first date format. This makes no sense. It just doesn't. Who even came up with this thing?

In any case, making sense logically isn't just a feels-good kind of thing, it also has convenient consequences.

The year-month-day order is great because it can be easily sorted. If you have files in a computer, for example, or folders, directories, and their filenames start with a date, writing this date in a year-month-day order allows the dates to be sorted simply by sorting the files alphabetically.

  • 2000-01-31-photo-of-a-cat.jpeg
  • 2000-02-07-photo-of-a-dog.jpeg
  • 2010-01-01-photo-of-a-big-cat.jpeg

This wouldn't with day-month-year: the 2010 file is sorted as the first one because it begins with day 01.

  • 01-01-2010-photo-of-a-big-cat.jpeg
  • 07-02-2000-photo-of-a-dog.jpeg
  • 31-01-2000-photo-of-a-cat.jpeg

And it certainly wouldn't work with month-day-year.

  • 01-01-2010-photo-of-a-big-cat.jpeg
  • 01-31-2000-photo-of-a-cat.jpeg
  • 02-07-2000-photo-of-a-dog.jpeg

Incidentally, the International Standards Organization also endorses this format due to reasons like the above. The ISO 8601 Standard, which refers to a standard way to write date and time internationally, is a year-month-day, then hour-minute-second.

References

2 comments:

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  1. Yep, quite logical. Though in Russia we use reverse order (dd.mm.yyyy). However we use more logical address format: country/region/city/street/house№/flat№. Like narrowing the search zone everytime )

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  2. september, october, november, december. In latin, septem = 7, octo = 8, novem = 9, and decem = 10. Therefore september obviously is the 7th month, october is the 8th month... Oh, wait. It isn't. But in Japanese 九月 (kugatsu) literally translates to ninemonth, 十月 (juugatsu) to tenmonth, etc. Whenever I have to write the date in numbers somewhere I have to count which month is which. In Japanese there are no month names. Just like we have no names for each of the 31 days in a month they have no names for each months themselves. I like that way more.
    (At the time of speaking it is 2019-07-29. I can easily tell it is shichigatsu. But I have no clue which month it is in my own language..

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