いつ（いつ、itsu）
- when

The Japanese word いつ means "when" in English. It's an interrogative word used to ask about time. It refers to a point in time, a duration, or a specific occasion. いつ can be used to ask about past, present, or future times.

⚫︎あなたの誕生日はいつですか？ Translation: When is your birthday? ⚫︎いつ日本へ行きますか？ Translation: When will you go to Japan? ⚫︎映画はいつから始まりますか？ Translation: From when does the movie start?

⚫︎You use いつ when you want to inquire about the time of an event, action, or state. ⚫︎It’s usually placed at the beginning of a question, followed by other words to complete the question's meaning. ⚫︎The answer to a question using いつ usually contains a specific time, a date, or a time-related expression.

⚫︎いつ is primarily written in hiragana. ⚫︎It does not have a kanji form that is commonly used.

⚫︎There aren't exact direct synonyms for いつ in Japanese. However, depending on context, you might use phrases or expressions to ask about time. For example: ⚫︎何時（なんじ） (Nani ji) - "What time" ⚫︎何曜日（なんようび） (Nanyoubi) - "What day of the week" ⚫︎何日（なんにち） (Nannichi) - "What date/day"

⚫︎いつ itself does not have a direct antonym. You can consider responses to questions using いつ as providing an opposite of sorts. For example, if the answer to いつ is "tomorrow", a contrasting time frame would be "yesterday".

試験はいつですか？ ・Translation: When is the exam? ・Explanation: This sentence directly asks about the date or time of the exam using いつ.

夏休みはいつからいつまでですか？ ・Translation: From when until when is summer vacation? ・Explanation: This sentence uses いつ twice to inquire about the start and end dates of summer vacation.

⚫︎The etymology of いつ is not particularly complex. ⚫︎ It is considered a native Japanese word, and its origin is not directly linked to any specific character.