〜度: Times, Degrees, Temperature | Japanese Grammar

The counter 度（ど） does three jobs at once. It counts occasions ("once," "this time," "never again"); it reads temperature (三十度 = 30°); and it measures angles (九十度 = 90°). The first job overlaps with 回, and learners often treat 度 and 回 as interchangeable words for "times" — they aren't quite. This page maps all three uses, draws the 度-vs-回 line, and warns you about 今度, a single word that can mean either "this coming time" or "the other day."

Job 1: counting occasions

For "N times," 度 competes with 回. Its readings are completely regular — 度 begins with the voiced d, so, like 〜台, it never geminates or voices: 一度 ichido, 二度 nido, 三度 sando, 何度 nando.

すみません、もう一度言ってもらえますか。

sumimasen, mō ichido itte moraemasu ka

Sorry, could you say that once more?

富士山には一度だけ登ったことがある。

fujisan ni wa ichido dake nobotta koto ga aru

I've climbed Mt. Fuji just once.

何度説明しても、彼は分かってくれない。

nando setsumei shite mo, kare wa wakatte kurenai

No matter how many times I explain, he just doesn't get it.

二度と…ない — "never again"

One of the most useful 度 patterns is 二度と + negative, an emphatic "never again / not a second time." The particle is と, and the clause must be negative — 二度と is meaningless without a "not."

あんな店には二度と行かない。

anna mise ni wa nido to ikanai

I'm never going to that shop again.

二度とこんな間違いはしません。

nido to konna machigai wa shimasen

I won't make this kind of mistake ever again.

Job 2: temperature and angles

For temperature and angles, 度 is the only option — 回 cannot do this job. Body temperature, weather, oven settings, and geometry all take 度. Decimals attach as expected (三十六度五分 or 36.5度 for body temperature — see Decimals and Zero), and sub-zero readings use マイナス.

今日は気温が三十五度まで上がった。

kyō wa kion ga sanjūgo-do made agatta

The temperature climbed to thirty-five degrees today.

北海道では冬にマイナス二十度になることもある。

hokkaidō de wa fuyu ni mainasu nijū-do ni naru koto mo aru

In Hokkaido it can drop to minus twenty degrees in winter.

この坂は傾斜が三十度もあって、自転車ではきつい。

kono saka wa keisha ga sanjū-do mo atte, jitensha de wa kitsui

This slope has a thirty-degree incline — brutal on a bicycle.

回 vs 度 for "times" — the real distinction

Both count occurrences, so when are they different? The honest answer is that in casual speech they overlap heavily for small numbers (一回 ≈ 一度, 二回 ≈ 二度). But there is a genuine tendency worth internalizing:

回 is the neutral, objective repetition counter — discrete, countable events on a schedule or in a tally. Frequencies, statistics, medication, reps: 週に三回, 一日に二回, もう一回. When you just mean "how many times did X happen," 回 is the default. (Full treatment on 〜階 and 〜回.)
度 leans toward the occasion or experience — often with a touch of emphasis, emotion, or formality, and it lives in set expressions. 一度 as "once (in my life)," もう一度 "one more time," 二度と "never again," 今度 "this occasion," 度々 "repeatedly."

この映画は三回見た。特に三度目が一番泣けた。

kono eiga wa sankai mita. toku ni sando-me ga ichiban naketa

I've seen this film three times. The third time especially got me crying.

Notice how that sentence uses 三回 for the flat count ("seen it three times") but slides into 三度目 for the emotionally weighted "the third time." That is the split in miniature: 回 tallies, 度 dwells on the occasion.

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Rule of thumb: for a routine or a statistic ("three times a week," "twice a day"), reach for 回. For a notable occasion or a fixed phrase ("just this once," "never again," "next time"), reach for 度. When in genuine doubt at small numbers, 回 is the safer neutral choice — it is rarely wrong.

The 今度 trap: "this time" or "next time"?

今度（こんど） is a high-frequency word and a real conversational hazard, because it does not simply mean "next time." Depending on context and tense, it can point either forward or backward:

Forward — "this coming / next time": the most common use, referring to the next occasion. 今度の日曜日 = "this coming Sunday"; 今度また = "next time."
Backward — "this recent time / the other day": referring to a just-past occasion or a current state of affairs. 今度の試験は難しかった = "this last exam was hard."

この間はごちそうさま。今度は僕がおごるね。

kono aida wa gochisōsama. kondo wa boku ga ogoru ne

Thanks for treating me last time. Next time it's on me.

今度の週末、映画でも見に行かない？

kondo no shūmatsu, eiga demo mi ni ikanai?

Want to go see a movie or something this coming weekend?

今度の担当者、なかなかしっかりしているね。

kondo no tantōsha, nakanaka shikkari shite iru ne

The new person in charge (this time around) is quite on top of things.

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Let tense disambiguate 今度. With a future verb or a plan, it means "next time" (今度行こう = "let's go next time"). With a past verb or a description of the present, it means "this time / the other day / the current one" (今度は失敗した = "this time I failed"). English forces you to choose "this" or "next"; Japanese leaves it to context, so read the verb before you translate.

A reading fork: 度 as ど vs. たび

Be aware that 度 has a second, native reading, たび, meaning "each time / occasion." As the counter it is always ど (三度 sando), but in a few set structures it is たび:

度々（たびたび） — "repeatedly, frequently" (somewhat formal).
〜する度に（たびに） — "every time one does ~."
この度（このたび） — "on this occasion" (formal; opens announcements, apologies, and thank-yous).

彼は会う度に、仕事の愚痴ばかり言う。

kare wa au tabi ni, shigoto no guchi bakari iu

Every time we meet, all he does is gripe about work.

この度は、大変お世話になりました。

kono tabi wa, taihen osewa ni narimashita

Thank you so much for all your help on this occasion. (formal)

Common mistakes

❌ あんな店には二度と行く。

Incorrect — 二度と requires a negative verb.

✅ あんな店には二度と行かない。

anna mise ni wa nido to ikanai

I'll never go to that shop again.

二度と cannot stand with a positive verb. It only means "never again," so the clause must end in a negative (行かない, しません).

❌ 今度は難しかった＝「次回は難しいだろう」

Incorrect — with a past verb, 今度 means 'this (recent) time,' not 'next time.'

✅ 今度は難しかった＝「この回は難しかった」

kondo wa muzukashikatta

This time (the one just now) was hard.

Assuming 今度 always means "next time" reverses the meaning of past-tense sentences. Let the tense decide.

❌ 今日は気温が三十五回だ。

Incorrect — temperature takes 度, not 回.

✅ 今日は気温が三十五度だ。

kyō wa kion ga sanjūgo-do da

It's thirty-five degrees today.

回 counts repetitions only. Degrees and temperature are always 度.

❌ この度＝このど

Incorrect — in this formal phrase, 度 is read たび.

✅ この度＝このたび

kono tabi

on this occasion (formal)

❌ 週に三度ジムに通うのが日課だ。

Awkward — for a plain weekly routine, the neutral counter is 回.

✅ 週に三回ジムに通うのが日課だ。

shū ni sankai jimu ni kayou no ga nikka da

Going to the gym three times a week is part of my routine.

Not strictly ungrammatical, but for a bare frequency/routine, 回 is the natural choice; 度 there sounds oddly weighty.

Key takeaways

度（ど） counts occasions, and is the only counter for temperature and angles. Readings are regular: 一度 ichido, 三度 sando, 何度 nando.
二度と + negative = "never again."
回 vs 度: 回 for neutral counts and routines (週に三回); 度 for notable occasions and set phrases (一度, もう一度, 二度と, 今度).
今度 means "next time" or "this recent time" — let the tense of the verb tell you which.
度 also reads たび in 度々, 〜する度に, and この度 (formal).

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