What does “tsuki” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “tsuki” to mean ‘the moon’ or ‘month’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word well as it is quite often used in Japanese movies, songs, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word with example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “tsuki” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “tsuki”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “tsuki”.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a noun meaning ‘the moon’ in Japanese.
When this noun is used alone, most probably it means ‘the moon’ in Japanese. Depending on the situation and context, however, it can also mean ‘month’ or ‘months’. The Japanese calendar system in the past was based on the phases of the moon; it was a lunar calendar. So, even today, the Japanese word for the moon is strongly related to the calendar system and it can work as a month counter after a numeral. Let me add this fact to the definition and meaning above.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a noun meaning ‘the moon’ in Japanese. When this follows a numeral, it can work as a month counter with adding the meaning of ‘month’ or ‘months’.
The definition and meanings of “tsuki” are not so difficult, I think. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences.
Example #1: how to say “the moon” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa umibe de tsuki wo mi ta – 私達は海辺で月を見た (わたしたちはうみべでつきをみた)
We watched the moon by the sea.
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 word in the sentence.
- umibe – 海辺 (うみべ) : a noun meaning ‘seashore’, ‘beach’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works together with “de” to say “by the sea” in Japanese.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “umibe” to say where “watashi tachi” watched the moon.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “tsuki” to make the object in the sentence.
- mi – 見 (み) : one conjugation of the verb, “miru”, which means ‘to watch’, ‘to see’, ‘to look’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “mi” to make its past tense form, “mi ta”, which means ‘to have watched’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of “tsuki”. In this example, it works as the object in the sentence and means ‘the moon’ in Japanese. When we want to say “the moon” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: how to use “tsuki” as a month counter
kare ga nihon ni it te hito tsuki sugi ta – 彼が日本に行って一月過ぎた (かれがにほんにいってひとつきすぎた)
It’s been a month since he left for Japan.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make the subject word in the first clause
- nihon – 日本 (にほん) : a noun meaning ‘Japan’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “nihon” to say where “kare” left for.
- it – 行っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’, ‘to leave for’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the Japanese language, te formed words have some important roles. One of them is make a chronological order in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its te form, “it te”. And this te-formed verb makes the chronological order in the sentence. The Japanese example literally means ‘he left for Japan’ and ‘one month has passed’. We can understand the order between these two events due to the help of the te-formed verb.
- hito – 一 (ひと) : a numeral meaning ‘one’ in Japanese.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a Japanese counter for months. In the example, this follow the numeral, “hito”, to mean ‘one month’ in Japanese.
- sugi – 過ぎ (すぎ) : one conjugation of the verb, “sugiru”, which means ‘to pass’ or ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
This is another typical usage of “tsuki”. In this example, it works as a month counter after the numeral, “hito”. The formed phrase literally means ‘one month’ in Japanese. When we want to count months in Japanese, we can use “tsuki” after a numeral.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “tsuki” and how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a noun meaning ‘the moon’ in Japanese. When this follows a numeral, it can work as a month counter with adding the meaning of ‘month’ or ‘months’.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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