Talk About Your Daily Routine in Japanese: Essential Vocabulary

Just adding some daily key Japanese phrases to your vocabulary could have you speaking like a pro!

Describing your whole daily routine in another language can seem like a big task, but if you were to divide it up, it becomes much more digestible. 

‘Daily routine’ or ‘daily life’ in Japanese is referred to as nichijou seikatsu (日常生活 / にちじょうせいかつ).

Below are three tables containing the fundamental key words and phrases that make up the foundation of one’s typical daily routine.

They are broken up into morning, midday and evening activities for ease of learning.

Morning routine vocabulary in Japanese

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
At ○○ o’clock	○○時に	○○じに	○○ji ni
To wake up	起きます	おきます	kimasu
To get dressed	着替えます	きがえます	kigaemasu
To eat breakfast	朝ごはんを食べます	あさごはんをたべます	asagohan wo tabemasu
To brush one’s teeth	歯を磨きます	はをみがきます	ha wo migakimasu
To leave the house	家を出ます	いえをでます	ie wo demasu
To commute	通います	かよいます	kayoimasu
To commute (to work)	通勤する	つうきんする	tsuukin suru
I go by foot	歩いて行きます	あるいていきます	aruite ikimasu
I go by bus / train / car / bicycle	バス / 電車 / 車 / 自転車 て行きます	ばす / でんしゃ / くるま でいきます	basu / densha / kuruma de ikimasu
School	学校	かっこう	gakkou
University	大学	だいがく	daigaku
Work	仕事	しごと	shigoto

Of course, everyone’s daily routine looks different, but this table covers the basic terms we need to know when describing our mornings.

Do refer to our post about numbers to fill in the time you would usually wake up!

If you want to describe a single activity, simply start with ○○時に / ○○ ji ni (at ○○ o’clock) and then follow with the activity from the table above. If you are only listing one activity in the sentence, you do not need to change the form of the verb.

Example:

Hachi ji ni ie wo demasu.
8時に家を出ます。
8じにいえをでます。
I leave the house at 8.

If you want to list several activities in the same sentence, put all the verbs (except the final one) into the te-form to connect them.

Here’s an example of how you can string several verbs together into a sentence.

Example: 

Watashi wa shichi ji ni okite, asagohan wo tabete, ha wo migakimasu.
私は7時に起きて、朝ご飯を食べて、歯を磨きます。
わたしはしちじにおきて、あさごはんをたべて、はをみがきます。
I wake up at 7, eat breakfast and brush my teeth.

Vocabulary for throughout the day

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
Class	授業	じゅぎょう	jyugyou
Meeting	会議	かいぎ	kaigi
Make phone calls	電話する	でんわする	denwa suru
Meet friends / colleagues	友達 / 同僚 に会います	ともだち / どうりょう にあいます	tomodachi / douryou ni aimasu
Eat lunch	昼ごはんを食べます	ひるごはんをたべます	hirugohan wo tabemasu
Lunch service	給食	きゅうしょく	kyuu shoku
Packed lunch	お弁当	おべんとう	obentou
Extracurricular / club activities	部活	ぶかつ	bukatsu
Overtime	残業	ざんぎょう	zangyou
To return home	家に帰ります	いえにかえります	ie ni kaerimasu

A note on bukatsu (club activities)

Bukatsu or bukatsudou are extracurricular club activities such as music, art or sports clubs that students participate in after classes have ended for the day.

In Japan, it is almost seen as mandatory and it is rare for a student to not attend an after school activity. 

Students who don’t go to bukatsu, instead attend kitaku bu (帰宅部 / きたくぶ) which translates as ‘go-home club’!

For example: 

Watashi wa gakko ga owatte kara, tomodachi to bukatsu ni ikimashita
私は学校が終わってから、友達と部活に行きました。
わたしはがっこうがおわってから、ともだちとぶかつにいきました。
After school, I went to club activities with friends.

Evening words in Japanese

English	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji
To hang out with friends	友達と遊びます	ともだちとあそびます	tomodachi to asobimasu
To walk the dog	犬と散歩します	いぬとさんぽします	inu to sanpo shimasu
To exercise at the gym	ジムで運動します	じむでうんどうします	jimu de undou shimasu
To go shopping	買い物します	かいものします	kaimono shimasu
To clean	掃除します	そうじします	souji shimasu
To do housework	家事します	かじします	kaji shimasu
To do homework	宿題します	しゅくだいします	shutakudai shimasu
To study	勉強します	べんきょうします	benkyou shimasu
To watch TV	テレビを見ます	てれびをみます	terebi wo mimasu
To play video games	ビデオゲームします	びでおげーむします	bideo geemu shimasu
To take a shower	シャワーを浴びます	しゃわーをあびます	shawaa wo abimasu
To take a bath	お風呂に入ります	おふろにはいります	ofuro ni hairimasu
To eat dinner	晩ご飯を作ります	ばんごはんをつくります	bangohan wo tabemasu
To sleep	寝ます	ねます	nemasu

Some days when you return home from a busy day at work or school, you may just eat dinner and go straight to sleep! Other days may be jam packed with activities such as those featured in the list above.

As above, if you want to list more than one activity in the same sentence, connect them by putting the verbs into the te-form.

Example: 

Shigoto no ato de, kaimono shite, bangohan wo tabete, yukkuri shimasu.
仕事の後で、買い物して、晩ご飯を作って、ゆっくりします。
しごとのあとで、かいものして、ばんごはんをつくって、ゆっくりします。
After work I go shopping, make dinner and relax

So, can you describe your daily routine in Japanese? Why not drop a sentence or two in the comments below to practise!

Want to learn more practical, everyday Japanese? Our top recommended resource is JapanesePod101. Try it for free!

Related posts

• Days of the Week in Japanese
• How to Say Goodnight in Japanese

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Hannah Stafford

Hannah is a half Irish/half Japanese girl living in Ireland. Her love for Japan and the Japanese language led her to studying languages and translation in university where she specialised in Japanese. She spent a year studying abroad at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. In her free time, Hannah enjoys using her sewing machine to upcycle clothes and create new pieces!