More on day, week, month, and year

Content: More on day, week, month, and year

Aim: How do we describe the duration of time (day, week, month and year)?

New Vocabulary:

Japanese	Romaji	English
こんしゅう	Kon shu	This week
せんしゅう	Sen shu	Last week
らいしゅう	Rai shu	Next week
ことし	Kotoshi	This year
きょねん	Kyonen	Last year
らいねん	Rainen	Next year
あさって	Asatte	Day after tomorrow
～にちかん　（日間）	xx nichi kan	For xx days
～しゅう間	xx shu kan	For xx weeks
～ねんor（～ねん間）	xx nen or (xx nen kan)	For xx years
かえります	Kaeri masu	To go home, to return
べんきょうします (Review of Lesson 12)	Benkyo shimasu	To study
いきます	Iki masu	To go
いきました	Iki mashita	went

To Indicate Duration of Time

Wk(s)/yr(s)			Day(s)
1 week	いっしゅう間	Isshuu kan	1 day	いちにち 1日	Ichi nichi
2 weeks	にしゅう間	Nishuu kan	2 days	ふつかかん 2日間	Futsuka kan
3 weeks	さんしゅう間	Sanshuu kan	3 days	みっかかん 3日間	Mikka kan
4 weeks	よんしゅう間	Yonshuu kan	4 days	よっかかん 4日かん	Yokka kan
5 weeks	ごしゅう間	Goshuu kan	5 days	いつかかん 5日間	Itsuka kan
6 weeks	ろくしゅう間	Rokushuu kan	6 days	むいかかん 6日間	Muika kan
7 weeks	ななしゅう間	Nanashuu kan	7 days	なのかかん 7日間	Nanoka kan
8 weeks	はっしゅう間	Hasshuu kan	8 days	ようかかん 8日間	Yooka kan
9 weeks	きゅうしゅう間	Kyushuu kan	9 days	ここのかかん 9日間	Kokonoka kan
10 weeks	じゅっしゅう間	Jusshuu kan	10 days	とおかかん 10日間	Tooka kan
1 year	いちねん（間）	Ichi nen	11 days	11日間*	Ju ichi nichi kan
2 years	にねん（間）	Ni nen	20 days	20日間	Hatsuka kan

*We do not say “1日間”. If some event’s duration is one day, you just say one day.

Lesson Point:

· 2 to 10 days, and 20 days are counted differently. Any other days are read like regular numbers, and simply add the counter word “nichi kan” to indicate the duration.

· In Japanese, you might have noticed that verbs are not affected by the subject of the sentence. In other words, whether the subject is singular or plural, first person or second person, the verbs do not change their form. Verb’s present tense and the future tense are also the same.

Sample Sentences:

ホセはかれのおとうとと、4しゅう間(かん)にほんにいきます。(Jose will go to Japan for 4 weeks with his younger brother.)

Jose wa kare no otooto to yon shuu kan nihon ni ikimasu.

たなかさんは2ねんスペインにいます。(Tanaka san is in Spain for 2 years.)

Tanaka san wa ni nen supein ni imasu.

アナとエンリケは10日間(かかん)かんこくにいきます。(Ana and Enrique will go to Korea for 10 days.)

Ana to Enrique wa tooka kan kankoku ni ikimasu.

ちゅうごくにも3日間(かかん)いきます。(They will also go to China for 3 days.)

Chuugoku ni mo mikka kan ikimasu.

わたしはらいしゅうから20日間(かかん)フランスにいきます。(I will go to France for 20 days from next week.)

Watashi wa raishu kara hatsuka kan furansu ni ikimasu.

かれはらいげつアメリカにかえります。(He will return to America next month.)

Kare wa raigetsu America ni kaeri masu.

わたしはきょねん2しゅうかんイタリアにいきました。(I went to Italy for 2 weeks last year.)

Watashi wa kyonen ni shuu kan itaria ni ikimashita.

わたしは1ねんかんイタリアごをべんきょうします。(I study Italian for 1 year.)

Watashi wa ichi nen kan itaria go o benkyoo shimasu.

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Mini-quiz:

In Japanese, describe the latest trip you had.

わたしは＿＿＿（日間(にちかん)、しゅう間(かん)）＿＿＿＿＿にいきました。

In Japanese, describe the latest trip your friend or family had.

＿＿＿＿は＿＿＿＿（日間(にちかん)、しゅう間(かん)）＿＿＿＿にいきました。

Writing Practice-Kanji

Let’s write kan/aida using kanji.

The kanji used to describe the duration of time is pronounced “間- kan” in this chapter. But it can also be pronounced as “aida – in between” as reviewed in lesson 8.

Let’s also practice writing Thursday, Friday and Saturday using Kanjis.

木よう日（もくようび）- Thursday. This kanji is also pronounced as “ki” and it means a standing tree with roots.

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金よう日（きんようび）- Friday. This kanji is also pronounced as “kane” and it means gold, metal or money.

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土よう日（どようび）- Saturday. This kanji is also pronounced as “tsuchi” and it means ground, earth, or dirt.

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