Learn Hardcore Japanese: heizitu ha taitei sitizi kurai ni okiru. - On weekdays I usually get up around seven.

は marks the topic. 平日は means “As for weekdays,” setting the frame of reference. It often implies a contrast with other times (e.g., weekends): “On weekdays (as opposed to weekends), I usually wake up around seven.” The grammatical subject (“I”) is understood from context and omitted.

Why is there no explicit “I” in the sentence?

Japanese commonly omits pronouns when they’re obvious. In a statement about daily routine, the default is the speaker: “I.” If you need to be explicit, you can say 私は平日はたいてい七時くらいに起きる/起きます, but Japanese usually keeps it simple with no pronoun.

Can I use 起きます instead of 起きる?

Yes. 起きる is the plain (informal) form; 起きます is the polite form. Choose based on the situation:

Casual: 平日はたいてい七時くらいに起きる。
Polite: 平日はたいてい七時くらいに起きます。

What exactly does たいてい mean, and how is it different from いつも, よく, and だいたい?

たいてい = “usually, generally” (most of the time, but not always).
いつも = “always/usually” (stronger, nearly every time).
よく = “often/frequently” (many times, but not necessarily a majority).
だいたい = “roughly/approximately/mostly.” With times, だいたい七時 means “about 7 o’clock,” not “usually.” So don’t confuse たいてい (frequency) with だいたい (approximation).

Where should たいてい go in the sentence?

Put adverbs of frequency like たいてい after the topic and before the rest of the predicate. Most natural here is:

平日はたいてい七時くらいに起きる。 You’ll also hear 平日は七時くらいに起きるのがたいていだ or similar, but the given order is the default and most natural.

Why are both たいてい and くらい used? Isn’t that redundant?

They modify different things:

たいてい = how often you do it (usually).
七時くらい = how precise the time is (around seven). Compare:
平日は七時くらいに起きる = On weekdays I wake up around seven (habit, but no comment on frequency).
平日はたいてい七時に起きる = I usually wake up exactly at seven.

Which should I use with clock times: くらい, ぐらい, ごろ, ころ, or ほど?

ごろ (頃) is the go-to suffix for approximate clock times: 七時ごろ.
くらい/ぐらい also works: 七時くらい. ぐらい is a more colloquial pronunciation; くらい is common in writing. Meaning is the same here.
With ごろ, the particle に is optional: 七時ごろ(に)起きる. With くらい, you normally need に: 七時くらいに起きる.
ほど is not used for clock times; use it for amounts/durations: 一時間ほど (“about an hour”).
ころ is often used with looser periods like 子どものころ (“when I was a child”), while ごろ is typical after specific clock times.

Do I need the particle に after 七時?

With a precise time, you generally use に: 七時に起きる.
With ごろ, に is optional: 七時ごろ起きる / 七時ごろに起きる (both common).
With くらい/ぐらい, keep に: 七時くらいに起きる. Saying 七時くらい起きる sounds odd.

Can I say 平日に instead of 平日は? What about 平日には?

平日は… makes “weekdays” the topic (“as for weekdays”). This is very natural for habitual statements.
平日に… treats it as a simple time expression (“on weekdays”). Grammatically fine: 平日にたいてい七時くらいに起きる, but it sounds less natural than topicalizing it.
平日には… adds both time and contrast/topic at once; it emphasizes contrast a bit more: 平日にはたいてい七時くらいに起きる (especially when you’ll contrast with weekends: 週末は…).

How do you read 七時? Is ななじ okay?

Standard is しちじ for “7 o’clock.” ななじ is generally avoided with clock times. You can say 七時半（しちじはん） for 7:30. Using なな is common with some counters (e.g., 七分（ななふん）), but not for clock hours.

Do I need to specify AM or morning?

Not usually, because 起きる implies waking up in the morning. If you need to be explicit, add:

午前七時 (7 a.m.) or
朝の七時 (7 in the morning). Example: 平日はたいてい午前七時ごろに起きます。

What’s the nuance difference between 起きる, 起き上がる, and 目が覚める?

起きる: to wake up / get out of bed; the standard verb for “get up.”
目が覚める: to wake up in the sense of becoming awake (eyes open), not necessarily getting out of bed.
起き上がる: to sit up or get up physically (the motion of rising).
For daily routine, 起きる is the default.

What does 平日 cover? Does it include Saturday?

In ordinary use, 平日 means Monday–Friday and excludes weekends. It also typically excludes national holidays that fall on a weekday. Signs often contrast 平日 with 土日祝 (Sat/Sun/holidays).

Is it okay to use numerals instead of kanji for time? And what about spaces?

Yes, 7時 is very common, and many publications prefer Arabic numerals for dates and times. Japanese normally doesn’t use spaces between words, so you’ll see 平日はたいてい7時くらいに起きる。 The spaces in your sentence are just for learners to see the parts.

How can I change the sentence to past or negative, or swap the time/day?

Past (plain/polite): 平日はたいてい七時くらいに起きた／起きました。
Negative (plain/polite): 平日はたいてい七時くらいに起きない／起きません。
Contrast with weekends: 週末は九時ごろに起きる。

Can I reorder the parts, like 平日は七時くらいにたいてい起きる?

It’s grammatical, but the most natural placement keeps たいてい right after the topic:

Most natural: 平日はたいてい七時くらいに起きる。
Acceptable but less typical: 平日は七時くらいにたいてい起きる。
Keeping adverbs of frequency early helps the sentence flow.