43
期
Period, Time, Term
JLPT N3
Interesting Fact
The character 期 originally expressed the idea of the moon completing one full cycle, and from there its meaning developed into a set period of time. That same idea of a completed cycle still survives in Japanese words such as 期月 (きげつ), meaning a period of one month.
Memory Trick
“🌙 Take the stairs every day to check the moon(月) and see which period it is—that’s 期!”
Readings
Onyomi: キ (ki), ゴ (go)
Kunyomi:
Example Words
期間
きかん (kikan)
Period
学期
がっき (gakki)
School term
期待
きたい (kitai)
Expectation
時期
じき (jiki)
Season; time
Example Sentence
夏休みの期間は一か月です。
なつやすみ の きかん は いっかげつ です。
natsuyasumi no kikan wa ikkagetsu desu
The summer vacation period is one month.