This page explains date and time formats.
There are various ways to write dates and time in Japanese.
When communicating with family or friends about dates or time, any grammar may be fine as long as the other person can understand, but when communicating dates and time at work, you need to use correct grammar.
Date Format
When writing dates, write in the order of “年” → “月” → “日“. Sometimes the “年” is omitted. Also, the day of the week can be written after the “日“.
There are two ways to write “年“: the Western calendar and the Japanese calendar.
The Western calendar is a calendar that starts from the year following the birth of Jesus Christ, and is also used in Europe and the United States. When communicating with people other than Japanese people, we use the Western calendar.
When writing the year in the Western calendar, the date is written as “２０２４年７月１５日“.
The Japanese calendar is a calendar unique to Japan, and includes the eras of “明治“, “大正“, “昭和“, “平成” and “令和“. The Japanese calendar is sometimes used in government documents and company documents.
When writing the year in the Japanese calendar, the date is written as “令和６年７月１５日“.
In Japan, it does not matter whether you write the year in the Western calendar or the Japanese calendar, but using both can confuse readers, so it is best to stick to one calendar.
You may see the Japanese calendar abbreviated to the alphabet. For example, “令和６年” is written as “R６年” and “平成６年” is written as “H６年“. Although this abbreviated forms may be understandable to the other person, it is better not to write them out.
There are also some cases where “年“, “月” and “日” are omitted. For example, “２０２４/７/１５”, “２０２４．７．１５”, “２０２４ー７ー１５” and “２０２４０７１５”. Although these abbreviated forms may be understandable to the other person, it is better not to write them out.
Date formats are as follows.
| Date Format | ◎Recommended/⚪︎Possible/×Not Recommended |
|---|---|
| ２０２４年７月１５日 | ◎ |
| 令和６年７月１５日 | ◎ |
| ７月１５日 | ◎ |
| ２０２４年７月１５日月曜日 | ⚪︎ |
| 令和６年７月１５日月曜日 | ⚪︎ |
| ７月１５日月曜日 | ⚪︎ |
| ２０２４年７月１５日（月） | ⚪︎ |
| 令和６年７月１５日（月） | ⚪︎ |
| ７月１５日（月） | ⚪︎ |
| R６年７月１５日 | × |
| ２０２４/７/１５ | × |
| ２０２４．７．１５ | × |
| ２０２４ー７ー１５ | × |
| ２０２４０７１５ | × |
Time Format
When writing time, write in the order of “時” → “分“. Sometimes “秒” is written after “分“. For example, time is written as “１０時１５分” or “１０時１５分３０秒“.
You can also write “：” instead of writing the characters of “時“, “分” and “秒“. For example, you can write “１０：１５” or “１０：１５：３０”.
There are two ways to write time: 12-hour system and 24-hour system.
The 12-hour system divides a day into two parts of 12 hours. The first 12 hours are written as “午前” and the second 12 hours are written as “午後“.
For example, you can write “午前１０時１５分” or “午後５時１５分“.
The 24-hour system writes one day in 24 hours.
For example, you can write “１０時１５分” or “１７時１５分“.
The time “午後１７時１５分“, which is a mixture of the 12-hour system and 24-hour system, is incorrect.
Time formats are as follows.
| Time Format | ◎Recommended/⚪︎Possible/×Not Recommended |
|---|---|
| 午前１０時１５分 | ◎ |
| 午前１０：１５ | ◎ |
| 午前１０時１５分３０秒 | ⚪︎ |
| 午前１０：１５：３０ | ⚪︎ |
| 午後５時１５分 | ◎ |
| 午後５：１５ | ◎ |
| 午後５時１５分３０秒 | ⚪︎ |
| 午後５：１５：３０ | ⚪︎ |
| １０時１５分 | ◎ |
| １０：１５ | ◎ |
| １０時１５分３０秒 | ⚪︎ |
| １０：１５：３０ | ⚪︎ |
| １７時１５分 | ◎ |
| １７：１５ | ◎ |
| １７時１５分３０秒 | ⚪︎ |
| １７：１５：３０ | ⚪︎ |
| 午後１７時１５分 | × |
| 午後１７：１５ | × |