Days, Weeks & Months in Chinese 日期
rìqī
Day / week / month in Chinese are 天 / 星期 / 月 (tiān / xīng qī / yuè).
Also searched for as: days of the week, months, date, monday.
Which day is it? 20 essential days, weeks & months words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
日期 (rì qī) means date, and these are the days, weeks and months you need for making plans. The system is wonderfully regular: the week is 星期 (xīng qī), Monday is 星期一 (xīng qī yī), literally 'week one', and so on up to Saturday, while relative days follow a neat pattern from 前天 (qián tiān), the day before yesterday, to 后天 (hòu tiān), the day after tomorrow.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today |
| 明天 | míng tiān | tomorrow |
| 昨天 | zuó tiān | yesterday |
| 后天 | hòu tiān | day after tomorrow |
| 前天 | qián tiān | day before yesterday |
| 星期 | xīng qī | week |
| 星期一 | xīng qī yī | Monday |
| 星期二 | xīng qī èr | Tuesday |
| 星期三 | xīng qī sān | Wednesday |
| 星期四 | xīng qī sì | Thursday |
| 星期五 | xīng qī wǔ | Friday |
| 星期六 | xīng qī liù | Saturday |
| 星期天 | Xīng qī tiān | Sunday |
| 周末 | zhōu mò | weekend |
| 月 | yuè | month |
| 年 | nián | year |
| 日期 | rì qī | date |
| 号 | hào | day of the month |
| 去年 | qù nián | last year |
| 明年 | míng nián | next year |
Usage tips
- Sunday breaks the number pattern: it's 星期天 (xīng qī tiān) in speech or 星期日 (xīng qī rì) in writing, and you'll also hear 周 (zhōu) and 礼拜 (lǐ bài) for week, as in 周一 (zhōu yī) or 礼拜一 (lǐ bài yī), Monday.
- 下 (xià) and 上 (shàng) mark next and last, as in 下个月 (xià gè yuè), next month, and 上个星期 (shàng gè xīng qī), last week, but years use 明年 (míng nián) and 去年 (qù nián).
- Dates run from the largest unit to the smallest, and in speech the day is 号 (hào), so 15 March is 三月十五号 (sān yuè shí wǔ hào).
Common mistakes
- Confusing 一月 (yī yuè), January, with 一个月 (yī gè yuè), one month; the measure word 个 (gè) turns a month name into a length of time.
- Putting the time word at the end, as in 我去北京下个月; it goes before the verb, as in 我下个月去北京 (wǒ xià gè yuè qù Běi jīng).
Mini dialogue
- A今天几号？Jīn tiān jǐ hào?What's the date today?
- B十号，星期四。Shí hào, xīng qī sì.The tenth, Thursday.
- A那后天是星期六。周末你打算做什么？Nà hòu tiān shì xīng qī liù. Zhōu mò nǐ dǎ suàn zuò shén me?So the day after tomorrow is Saturday. What are you planning to do at the weekend?
- B星期六去买东西，星期天在家休息。Xīng qī liù qù mǎi dōng xi, xīng qī tiān zài jiā xiū xi.Shopping on Saturday, and resting at home on Sunday.
Example sentences
- 今天天气很好。The weather is lovely today.
- 明天见！See you tomorrow!
- 昨天我去看朋友了。I went to see a friend yesterday.
- 后天是我的生日。The day after tomorrow is my birthday.
- 前天我们去了公园。We went to the park the day before yesterday.
- 我们一个星期上五天课。We have classes five days a week.
- 星期一我总是很忙。I'm always busy on Mondays.
- 星期二下午有考试。There's an exam on Tuesday afternoon.
- 我们星期三去游泳吧。Let's go swimming on Wednesday.
- 星期四晚上我有空。I'm free on Thursday evening.
- 星期五我们早点下班。We finish work a bit earlier on Friday.
- 星期六我要去买东西。I'm going shopping on Saturday.
- 星期天我在家休息。I rest at home on Sunday.
- 周末你打算做什么？What are you planning to do at the weekend?
- 我下个月去北京。I'm going to Beijing next month.
- 我学汉语两年了。I've been learning Chinese for two years.
- 请在这里写上今天的日期。Please write today's date here.
- 今天几号？What's the date today?
- 去年我们去了英国。We went to the UK last year.
- 明年我想去中国。I want to go to China next year.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Days, weeks & months speaking island has 8 everyday questions about days, weeks & months to prepare your own answers to.