What does “mainichi” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “mainichi” to mean ‘every day’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “mainichi” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “mainichi”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “mainichi”.
- mainichi – 毎日 (まいにち) : a noun, but often used as an adverb to mean ‘every day’ in Japanese.
This is a noun. In the Japanese language, however, many time-related nouns can also work as adverbs. “Mainichi” is one of them. It can therefore work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence to say “every day” in Japanese. Perhaps, this fact could be wired to Japanese learners, but this is not unique to the Japanese language. For example, “tomorrow” can work as both a noun and an adverb in English. So, Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with English, can easily understand this point, I think.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Mainichi in kanji
The kanji expression of “mainichi” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 毎 : a kanji character often used as a prefix or suffix to add the meaning of ‘every’.
- 日 : a kanji character used to mean ‘day’, ‘sun’, or such in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that “mainichi” literally means ‘every day’ in Japanese. What the kanji characters express is completely in line with the meaning.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “mainichi” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “mainichi” together with its kanji expression. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “every day” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa mainichi hashiru – 私達は毎日走る (わたしたちはまいにちはしる)
We run every day.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- hashiru – 走る (はしる) : a verb meaning ‘to run’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “mainichi”. In the example, it works as an adverb to say “every day” in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “mainichi”
kanojo tachi wa mainichi koko de hataraku – 彼女達は毎日ここで働く (かのじょたちはまいにちここではたらく)
They work here every day.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- koko – ここ : a demonstrative pronoun used to refer to a place close to the speaker.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “koko” to say where they work every day.
- hataraku – 働く (はたらく) : a verb meaning ‘to work’ in Japanese.
This is another typical usage of “mainichi”. When we want to say “every day” in Japanese, this word is always a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “mainichi” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- mainichi – 毎日 (まいにち) : a noun, but often used as an adverb to mean ‘every day’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘every day’ in Japanese. So, what the kanji characters express is completely in line with the meaning. When we want to say “every day” in Japanese, this word is always a very good option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.