Today in Japanese: “kyou” or “honjitsu”, explained based on their kanji

How to say “today” in japanese

Japanese native speakers would say “kyou”. Or perhaps, they would use the more polite expression, “honjitsu”. Both can be used to say “today” in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain them in detail based on their kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “kyou”
• Kanji characters used in “kyou”
• Example #1: how to say “how was your day today?” in Japanese
• Definition and meaning of “honjitsu”
• Kanji characters used in “honjitsu”
• Example #2: how to say “how was your day today?” politely
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “kyou”

First of all, let me start with the definition and meaning of “kyou”.

• kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, it is a noun. But, in reality, it can also be used as an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence. In Japanese, many time-related nouns can be used like adverbs. “Kyou” is one of them. It can be used as both a noun and an adverb. This is not unique only to the Japanese language. A similar thing can be said to the English language too. Actually, the English word, “today”, can be used as both a noun and an adverb. So, this trait of time-related nouns is common in the both languages. Japanese learners, especially those who are familiar with English, can easily understand this point, I think.

Its meaning is quite simple and clear, I think. To understand this word a bit more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

Kanji characters used in “kyou”

Below are the kanji characters used in “kyou”.

• 今 – a kanji character used to mean ‘now’. It can also be used like a prefix to add the meaning of ‘this’ its following word(s). It can also be found in words like “konshuu” and “kotoshi“.
• 日 – a kanji character often used to mean ‘day’. It can also be found in words like “tanjoubi“.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “kyou” literally means ‘this day’. So, it can be considered as a Japanese word for ‘today’.

Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “how was your day today?” in Japanese

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case maker or topic maker. In the example, it is put after the noun, “kyou”, to give the topic.
• dou – どう : an adverb meaning ‘how’ in Japanese. It is quite often used in Japanese ‘how’ questions. Actually, it is used to make the how question in this example.
• deshi – でし : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “desu”, which is put after a noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, or phrase to make it polite. Probably, it is well known for a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, it is put after the adverb, “dou”, to make it sound polite.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb, adjective, auxiliary verb, or phrase to make its past tense. Probably, it is well known for a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated auxiliary verb, “deshi”, to make its past tense, “deshi ta”.
• ka – か : a sentence ending particle put at the end of a sentence to make a question. As its grammatical definition suggests, it is put at the end of the example sentence to make the question.

This is a typical usage of “kyou”. In this example, it is used as a noun to mean ‘today’ in Japanese. In the English translation, “today” works more like an adverb, though.

In more formal situations, Japanese native speakers use the more polite expression of “kyou”. Next, then, let me explain it in detail.

Definition and meaning of “honjitsu”

Below are the definition and meaning of “honjitsu”.

• honjitsu – 本日 (ほんじつ) : a noun meaning ‘today’. Normally, it is considered as a more polite expression of “kyou”.

Its meaning is completely the same as that of “kyou”. But, “honjitsu” is widely considered as a more polite expression for ‘today’ in Japanese. So, in formal situations, Japanese native speakers tend to say “honjitsu” instead of “kyou”.

To understand this word a bit more clearly, let me explain its kanji characters in detail.

Kanji characters used in “honjitsu”

Below are the kanji characters used in “honjitsu”.

• 本 – a kanji character often used as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘this’ its following word(s).
• 日 – the same as explained above. It is often used to mean ‘day’ in Japanese.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “honjitsu” is also literally a Japanese word for ‘this day’. This can be interpreted as ‘today’. So, what the kanji characters of “honjitsu” express is completely in line with its meaning. It has the same meaning as “kyou”, but sounds more polite.

Let me paraphrase the last example above with “honjitsu” as follows.

Example #2: how to say “how was your day today?” politely

Below is a new word used in the example sentence.

• ikaga – 如何 (いかが) : an adverb meaning ‘how’ in Japanese. It is considered as the polite expression of “dou” which has been explained in the last example.

This is a typical usage of “honjitsu”. It is used as a noun to mean ‘today’ in Japanese.

In accordance with the change from “kyou” to “honjitsu”, “dou” has been replaced by “ikaga” to have the same degree of politeness in the sentence. This Japanese example sentence can be used to say “how was your day today?” in a polite way in Japanese. It’s worth knowing, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “kyou” and “honjitsu” in detail based on their kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese. These two kanji literally mean ‘this day’.
• kyou wa dou deshi ta ka – 今日はどうでしたか (きょうはどうでしたか) : a Japanese expression for ‘how was your day today?’
• honjitsu – 本日 (ほんじつ) : a noun meaning ‘today’. These two kanji literally mean ‘this day’ too. Normally, it is considered as a more polite expression of “kyou”.
• honjitsu wa ikaga deshi ta ka – 本日は如何でしたか (ほんじつはいかがでしたか) : a Japanese polte expression for ‘how was your day today?’ “Ikaga” is a more polite expression of “dou”, meaning ‘how’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.