今日 (きょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

今日 (きょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

Kanji

今now
日day, sun, Japan

Related words

現げん在ざいN3sense 2
現在 focuses narrowly on the current moment or period, while 今日 read こんにち has a broader, more era-like sense of “the present day.”
今こんN2
今日 is the independent everyday word for 'today', while 今 (こん) as a prefix appears only inside formal compounds referring to today's instance of something, like 今暁 or 今般.

Opposites

昨日きのうN5sense 1
昨日 means “yesterday,” the day immediately before 今日 on the calendar.
明日あしたN5sense 1
明日 means “tomorrow,” the day immediately after 今日 on the calendar.

Politeness

本ほん日じつpolite 丁寧語N3sense 1
本日 is the formal, businesslike equivalent of 今日, used in announcements and customer-facing speech where 今日 would sound too casual.

Don't confuse with

今朝けさN5
今日 means 'today' as a whole day, whereas 今朝 narrows that down to just the morning portion of today, so learners often mix up which part of the day is meant.
今こん日にち的てき
今日 (read きょう) simply means 'today' as a specific day, whereas 今日的 (こんにちてき) is an adjective meaning 'of the present era, contemporary'.

Word family

昨日きのう今日きょう
yesterday and today · only recently; just recently; only yesterday
今日日きょうび
nowadays; these days
今日きょうイチ
today's best; best of the day
今日きょう中じゅうに
by today; before the day is over

Written forms

今日Usage92%
- きょう
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
  Most common everyday reading for “today.” This reading is a special kanji reading.
- こんにち
  Common for the broader meaning “nowadays; the present day,” and also possible in more formal uses meaning “this day.”

Etymology

The kanji spelling combines 今 “now” and 日 “day.” きょう is a special reading of 今日, while こんにち corresponds to the Sino-Japanese readings of the characters.