How to Describe Your Daily Routine in Japanese: Wake Up, Go to Work
Learn to describe a typical weekday in Japanese using time expressions and the present simple, with the particle に for clock times and それから to link actions.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
This lesson teaches you to describe a regular weekday in Japanese: what time you wake up, what time you leave home, and how you get to work. Japanese has no true present simple tense; the non-past form of a verb covers both present and future habits, so 起きます (okimasu) means both 'I wake up' and 'I will wake up'. The key skill is combining a clock time marked with the particle に (ni) with a verb in the polite -masu form. You will also learn それから (sore kara, 'and then') to chain actions in order. Keep the focus on repeated weekday activities; weekend plans use different vocabulary and often the -te iru form for a one-off arrangement, so mixing them up is a common beginner error.
By the end, you can…
- say what time I wake up, leave home and start work using に with clock times.
- link two or three routine actions in order with それから and the -masu form.
- ask and answer 'What time do you ...?' about someone's regular weekday.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
私は毎朝七時に起きます。
I wake up at seven every morning.
watashi wa maiasa shichi-ji ni okimasu
毎朝 (maiasa) means 'every morning' and makes the routine clear. 七時 (shichi-ji) is 'seven o'clock'; に marks the exact clock time.
それから、仕事に行きます。
Then I go to work.
sore kara, shigoto ni ikimasu
それから links the previous action to the next one. 行きます (ikimasu) is the polite non-past form of 行く (iku, 'to go').
八時半に家を出ます。
I leave home at eight thirty.
hachi-ji han ni ie o demasu
半 (han) after a time means 'half past'. 家を出ます (ie o demasu) uses を because 出る (deru) takes a direct object: you leave the house. Note that 出ます is the polite non-past form of 出る.
電車で会社へ行きます。
I go to the office by train.
densha de kaisha e ikimasu
で (de) marks the means of transport, and へ (e) marks direction. 会社 (kaisha) is a company or office. へ is pronounced 'e' as a particle.
何時に起きますか。
What time do you wake up?
nan-ji ni okimasu ka
何時 (nan-ji) means 'what time'. Adding か (ka) at the end makes a polite question; word order stays the same.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is [time] に + [verb in -masu form]. For example, 六時に起きます (roku-ji ni okimasu) means 'I wake up at six', and 九時に仕事を始めます (ku-ji ni shigoto o hajimemasu) means 'I start work at nine'. The particle に is required with specific clock times, but it is normally dropped with relative words like 今日 (kyō, 'today') or 明日 (ashita, 'tomorrow'). To chain actions, put それから (sore kara) at the start of the next sentence: 七時に起きます。それから、朝ごはんを食べます。 (shichi-ji ni okimasu. sore kara, asagohan o tabemasu.) — 'I wake up at seven. Then I eat breakfast.'
When to use it
Use this pattern for repeated weekday habits: 毎朝 (maiasa, 'every morning'), 毎日 (mainichi, 'every day'), たいてい (taitei, 'usually'). Say たいてい七時に起きます (taitei shichi-ji ni okimasu) for 'I usually wake up at seven'. Do not use it for a single future arrangement such as 'I'm meeting a friend on Saturday'; that is a weekend plan and often uses the -te iru form, for example 土曜日に友だちに会います (doyōbi ni tomodachi ni aimasu) for a scheduled event. Keep weekday routines in the polite non-past -masu form.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
毎朝、何時に起きますか。
What time do you wake up every morning?maiasa, nan-ji ni okimasu kaたいてい六時半に起きます。それから、七時に朝ごはんを食べます。
I usually wake up at six thirty. Then I eat breakfast at seven.taitei roku-ji han ni okimasu. sore kara, shichi-ji ni asagohan o tabemasu何時に家を出ますか。
What time do you leave home?nan-ji ni ie o demasu ka八時に家を出て、電車で会社へ行きます。
I leave home at eight and go to the office by train.hachi-ji ni ie o dete, densha de kaisha e ikimasuA little context goes a long way
Japanese workplace routines often start earlier than in many English-speaking countries, and 会社 (kaisha) can mean either the building or the organization. In polite conversation, people usually describe their routine with the -masu form rather than casual plain forms, especially with colleagues or acquaintances. Note that 朝ごはん (asagohan) is the everyday word for breakfast; 朝食 (chōshoku) sounds more formal and appears on signs or in writing.
One thing to watch for
Learners often say 七時起きます (shichi-ji okimasu), dropping the particle に after the clock time.
Try this instead: A specific clock time needs に: 七時に起きます (shichi-ji ni okimasu). Without に, the time sounds disconnected from the verb. Remember that に is used with clock times, but it is usually omitted with 今日, 明日 and 毎朝.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'I wake up at six thirty' in polite Japanese?
Show a sample answer
六時半に起きます。 (roku-ji han ni okimasu.)
六時半 is 'six thirty', に marks the clock time, and 起きます is the polite non-past form of 起きる. 六時三十分に起きます is also correct but less common in speech.
2Which particle marks the means of transport in 電車で会社へ行きます?
Show a sample answer
で (de)
で marks the method or tool, here the train. へ marks direction toward the office. Replacing で with に would change the meaning and is not correct for transport.
3Turn 起きます into a polite question asking 'What time do you wake up?'
Show a sample answer
何時に起きますか。 (nan-ji ni okimasu ka.)
何時 replaces the specific time, に stays, and か turns the sentence into a polite question. 何時に起きる？ is the casual version used with close friends.
For weekday routines, use [time] に + -masu verb, and link steps with それから. Keep に with clock times, drop it with 今日 and 毎朝, and save one-off weekend plans for a different pattern.
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