1.
Saturday
The first day of the weekend. The kanji 土 means 'earth/soil' and relates to Saturn (the 'earth planet' in East Asian tradition).
Forms
- 土曜日: Saturday (full form)
- 土曜: Saturday (abbreviated)
- 土: Sat (very short, in schedules)
Related words
- 日曜日: Sunday (日 = sun)
- 月曜日: Monday (月 = moon)
- 火曜日: Tuesday (火 = fire/Mars)
- 水曜日: Wednesday (水 = water/Mercury)
- 木曜日: Thursday (木 = wood/Jupiter)
- 金曜日: Friday (金 = metal/Venus)
Usage
- "on Saturday" is 土曜日に, but the particle is routinely dropped in casual speech: 土曜日映画見に行こう
- 毎週土曜日: every Saturday
- 今度の土曜日: this coming Saturday
- 来週の土曜日: next Saturday
- In schedules and calendars the day is written with the bare kanji: (土)
For most workers and students 土曜日 is part of the weekend, but many schools and some companies still hold classes or work on some Saturdays, so it is less uniformly a day off than Sunday.
Don't confuse with 土用 (18-day seasonal periods).
Related Words
Related:
土曜 (Saturday (abbreviated))
Related:
日曜日 (Sunday)
Related:
月曜日 (Monday)
Related:
火曜日 (Tuesday)
Related:
水曜日 (Wednesday)
Related:
木曜日 (Thursday)
Related:
金曜日 (Friday)