今日
きょう · kyou · JLPT N5 · noun
today
📅 今日 = now (今) + day (日): the now-day is today
今 means now and 日 means day or sun, so the compound literally says the now-day. The reading きょう is irregular: it belongs to the whole word, not to either kanji, and comes from old Japanese kefu (this day). Sound hook: kyou is like the kyo in Tokyo.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.
こんにち · konnichi · JLPT N3 · noun
today
📅 今日 = now + day; konnichi is the today inside konnichiwa
今 means now and 日 means day or sun. Read こんにち, it is the start of こんにちは, which literally means as for today and is a greeting whose sentence got cut short. In everyday speech, today on its own is usually read きょう.
日 — pictograph of the sun
日 is a pictograph of the sun, originally drawn as a circle with a dot or stroke inside representing the sun's substance. Over time the round shape was squared off into the modern rectangular form. It means 'sun' and by extension 'day'.