The calendar

[Diggity]

I am going to rip my hair out! I can understand the names for the monhs easy enough, but the days of the month are going to kill me! Is there an easy way to remember them or is it just going to take practice to learn them? It doesn't seem to make any sense to me!

[Shibakoen]

I know what you mean. I can never remember the word for the 20th.

[toryn]

Basically, you have to learn the first ten (which aren't that hard, especially when you realise they're similar to some other counters), plus the 14th, and the 20th.

Everything else is simple, just the regular number plus nichi.
So the 15th is juugonichi, the 23rd is nijuusan'nichi.

[redfoxer]

You mean the names of months such as ichi getsu, ni getsu so on? Easy to remember as getsu is the Kanji moon and before that is the number. EG first month = january, sixth month = june. And im guessing you mean days as in nichi youbi, do youbi, so on. The way to remember these is the similar connection with months. Day is youbi, so you must add youbi after the day to get the day of the week, just like getsu.

Now the prefixes for -youbi:

Nichiyoubi. ~Sunday~. The day of the sun so sunday. Nichi = sun. """(which is why in kanji, you get the kanji for sun, then youbi, then kanji for nichi(kinda hard to explain as its easier shown then said). Looks like => 曜日"""
Getsuyoubi. ~Monday~. The day of the moon. Getsu = moon. Easy way to remember it is moonday minus one o.
Kayoubi. ~Tuesday~. Day of fire. Ka = fire. Fire before water.
Suiyoubi. ~Wednesday~. Day of water. Sui = water. Fire before water .
Mokuyoubi. ~Thursday~. Day of the Tree. Moku = tree.
Kinyoubi. ~Friday~. The day of gold. Or pay day . Kin = gold.
Doyoubi. ~Saturday~. Day of the Earth. Do = Earth.

So the easy way to think is:

Sun (Nichi)
Moon (getsu)
Fire (ka)
Water (sui)
Tree (moku)
Gold (kin)
Earth (do)

As for kanji for days, just put the kanji for the above date and add 曜日 to it. So add the symbol for Ka (fire) to 曜日 and you get tuesday!!

Hope this works! Ganbarre minnasan!

More info http://www.thejapanesepage.com/readarticle.php?article_id=30

[Spaztick]

I think he means like "the 20th" or something like that.

While we're at it, how do you say them, and what's the iregualrity about teh 14th adn 20th?

[Shibakoen]

Don't forget, there's also an irregularity about the first of the month, too. I can't think of it off the top of my head. (Just remembered. It's tsuitachi, ne?)

[Diggity]

The words for the 4th and the 8th in particular are going to give me a problem I think...
yokka - 4th
youka - 8th

They sound almost exactly alike.

And thanks for the advice on just learning 1-10, 14, and 20. I relooked at my textbook and the pattern sprung right out at me! It will hopefully let me learn it in a hour or so now instead of a day!

Arigatou...

[Applegate]

Spaztick wrote:
I think he means like "the 20th" or something like that.

While we're at it, how do you say them, and what's the iregualrity about teh 14th adn 20th?

tsuitachi -1
futsuka -2
mikka -3
yokka -4
itsuka -5
muika -6
nanoka -7
youka -8
kokonoka -9
tooka -10
juuyokka -14
hatsuka -20 (like hatachi for nijuusai)

[Spaztick]

That's easy enough, it's just the kun readings of numbers followed by the ka counter, right?