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 as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail together with its historical background. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners 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 Japanese native speakers use this noun alone, most probably it refers to the moon. Depending on the context and situation, however, this can refer to a month or months. Japanese people in the past used a lunar calendar: the calendar system based on the phases of the moon. For this reason, the Japanese noun for the moon is still strongly related to the modern calendar system and therefore the noun can refer to a month or months. Furthermore, it can also work as month counter after a numeral. Let me add these facts to the definition and meaning above.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a noun meaning ‘the moon’ or ‘month’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. When this follows a numeral, this can work as month counter.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “tsuki” together with its historical background. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “the moon” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa sunahama de tsuki wo mi ta – 私達は砂浜で月を見た (わたしたちはすなはまでつきをみた)
We watched the moon on the beach.
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.
- sunahama – 砂浜 (すなはま) : a noun meaning ‘beach’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “sunahama” to say where the speakers 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’, or ‘to look’ 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”.
This is a typical usage of “tsuki”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “wo”, to become the object in the sentence. When we want to refer to the moon in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “tsuki”
kanojo ga nippon ni it te hito tsuki sugi ta – 彼女が日本に行って一月過ぎた (かのじょがにっぽんにいってひとつきすぎた)
It’s been a month since she left for Japan.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ 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 “kanojo” to make the subject in the first clause.
- nippon – 日本 (にっぽん) : 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 “nippon” to say where she went.
- it – 行っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku“, which normally means ‘to go’ 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 Japanese, 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”. Thanks to this te-formed verb, we can understand that the Japanese sentence literally means ‘she has left for Japan and then one month has passed’.
- hito – 一 (ひと) : a numeral meaning ‘one’ in Japanese.
- sugi – 過ぎ (すぎ) : one conjugation of the verb, “sugiru”, which means ‘to pass’ 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 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” as month counter.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “tsuki” in detail together with its historical background. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- tsuki – 月 (つき) : a noun meaning ‘the moon’ or ‘month’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. When this follows a numeral, this can work as month counter.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.