What does “maishuu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “maishuu” to mean ‘every week’ 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 understand “maishuu” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “maishuu”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “maishuu”.
- maishuu – 毎週 (まいしゅう) : a noun, but often used as an adverb to mean ‘every week’ in Japanese.
Grammatically this is a noun, but can also work as an adverb. In Japanese, many time-related nouns can also work as adverbs. “Maishuu” is one of them. It can therefore work almost anywhere in a sentence to say “every week” in Japanese. Perhaps this fact sounds a bit weird 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 not that difficult, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Maishuu in kanji
The kanji expression of “maishuu” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 毎 : a kanji character often used as a prefix or suffix to add the meaning of ‘every’.
- 週 : a kanji character used to mean ‘week’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that “maishuu” literally means ‘every week’ in Japanese. What the kanji characters express is completely in line with the actual 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 “maishuu” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “maishuu” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “every week” in Japanese
boku wa maishuu kanojo ni au – 僕は毎週彼女に会う (ぼくはまいしゅうかのじょにあう)
I meet her every week.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to say whom the speaker meets every week.
- au – 会う (あう) : a verb meaning ‘to meet’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “maishuu”. In the example, it works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to say “every week” in Japanese.
Example #2: another usage of “maishuu”
kanojo wa maishuu boku no kaisha ni kuru – 彼女は毎週僕の会社に来る (かのじょはまいしゅうぼくのかいしゃにくる)
She comes to my company every week.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make its possessive case, “boku no”, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- kaisha – 会社 (かいしゃ) : a noun meaning ‘company’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “boku no kaisha” to say where she comes every week.
- kuru – 来る (くる) : a verb meaning ‘to come’ in Japanese.
This is another typical usage of “maishuu”. When we want to say “every week” in Japanese, it is always a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “maishuu” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- maishuu – 毎週 (まいしゅう) : a noun, but often used as an adverb to mean ‘every week’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘every week’ in Japanese. What the kanji characters express is completely in line with the actual meaning.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
