月 means “moon / month”

Watch: Gen and Shibamaru learn 月

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Where 月 comes from

月 is a picture of a crescent moon.

Stroke order (4 strokes)

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4

Words with 月

• 

  月つき

  TSUKI

  moon

• 

  月曜日げつようび

  GETSUYOUBI

  Monday

• 

  一月いちがつ

  ICHIGATSU

  January

• 

  今月こんげつ

  KONGETSU

  this month

The part of each word written with 月 is shown in orange. Audio: the readings from our video.

Reading tips

• 月 is read がつ (GATSU) in the names of the months, like 一月 (ICHIGATSU, January), and げつ (GETSU) in words like 月曜日 and 今月 (KONGETSU, this month).
• To say a month, put the number before 月. Watch out for 四月 (SHIGATSU), 七月 (SHICHIGATSU), and 九月 (KUGATSU).
• Monday is the moon's day in English, too.

In the video

• Gen月曜日は 月の 日？Is Monday the moon's day?
• Shibamaruえいごも そうだよSame in English: Moon-day!

Example sentences

• 月が きれいですね。

  TSUKI GA KIREI DESU NE.

  The moon is beautiful, isn't it?

• たんじょうびは 四月です。

  TANJOUBI WA SHIGATSU DESU.

  My birthday is in April.

Keep learning kanji

• GENKI I Textbook (3rd Edition)

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  A popular first textbook used in many university courses. Each lesson has a dialogue, grammar explanations in English, and plenty of practice.

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• Japanese from Zero! 1

  Absolute beginner

  Starts from zero. Romaji is replaced by hiragana as you learn each one, so you are reading kana before you know it.

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