Recognize 今 in everyday Japanese and connect its meanings, now and this time, with whole words in context.

The idea

Compare 今（いま） and 今日（きょう） in the table: a character can have different readings in different words. 今 has 4 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
今いまnow
今日きょうtoday
今週こんしゅうthis week
今月こんげつthis month
今年ことしthis year

Examples

  • 今いま、本ほんを読よんでいます。I am reading a book now.
  • 今日きょうは雨あめです。It is rainy today.
  • 今週こんしゅう、友達ともだちに会あいます。I will meet a friend this week.
  • 今月こんげつは少すこし忙いそがしいです。I am a little busy this month.
  • 今年ことし、日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうします。I will study Japanese this year.
  • 今いまは四時半よじはんです。It is half past four now.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

今 alone is いま; 今週 and 今月 begin with こん. 今日（きょう） and 今年（ことし） have conventional whole-word readings, so learn them as complete words.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 今 in hiragana.

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    いま

    今 is read いま; the complete word means now.

  2. Write the reading of 今日 in hiragana.

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    きょう

    今日 is read きょう; the complete word means today.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: ＿週（こんしゅう）.

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    今

    今 completes 今週, read こんしゅう; the complete word means this week.

Use it today

Cover the table and write 今 from memory. Read 今 and 今日 aloud, then make a sentence and check its meaning against the examples.