家族でキャンプを楽しむ初心者向け日本語

What does “nihaku mikka” mean in Japanese?

Japanese describes the length of a trip by counting nights first, then days: 二泊三日 (nihaku mikka) is “two nights, three days.” The 泊 (haku) counts overnight stays, and the 日 counts days. The family’s camp runs Thursday to Saturday — two nights in the tent, three days in all — so it’s 二泊三日, the standard way to state how long you were away.

The format scales cleanly: 一泊二日 (ippaku futsuka, one night / two days), 三泊四日 (sanpaku yokka). 泊 comes from 泊まる (tomaru), “to stay overnight,” and its sound shifts — 一泊 ippaku, 三泊 sanpaku. Bonus casual word from the clip: はまる — 夫がキャンプにはまっている, “my husband is hooked on camping.”