13 When doing karate years ago the sensei would use the word ''yoi'' to instruct the students to take a ready/prepared stance. I didn't speak any Japanese then but I remember the word. Now I'm learning Japanese and I've come across the word ''yoi'' which means good/nice. Are these two meanings for the same word or are they just homonyms?, Both readings are possible in the limited context of your sample string: 良い一日 → yoi ichinichi 良い一日 → yoi tsuitachi Which reading you should use depends on your intended context. Are you talking about "a good day", or are you talking about "a good first day of the month"?, The base is the "i" adjective 良い(よい /yoi) which means good. There are many ways to use it but basically the meaning will always be well or sometimes often (when in the yoku form). よくない (yokunai) is the negative and means not good., Why is it 'tsuitachi' if the pronunciation can only be ichi, hito, or hitotsu?, I saw the phrase よいではないか (yoi de wa nai ka) in a comic strip, and decided to look it up because its literal meaning of "isn't it good?" didn't seem to make any sense. My research indicated that it, is a phrase that can be taken to correspond to "sweet dreams" which can be used in combination with おやすみ (なさい). (良い can be read either よい yoi or いい ii.) Other variations, like "sleep tight" are sometimes translated as ぐっすりおやすみなさい, but I don't think they are actually used in real life..