Weekend in Chinese 周末
zhōumò
Weekend in Chinese is 周末 (zhōu mò).
Also searched for as: weekend mandarin, saturday sunday, weekend plans.
Two days off. Now what? 15 essential the weekend 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.
The word for weekend in Chinese is 周末 (zhōu mò), literally 'the end of the week'. These words let you talk about how you spend those two precious days, whether that's a lazy 睡懒觉 (shuì lǎn jiào), lie-in, a morning hiking with 爬山 (pá shān), or the less welcome 加班 (jiā bān), working overtime. On Monday morning you'll be ready for the inevitable question: 周末过得怎么样？ (zhōu mò guò de zěn me yàng?), 'how was your weekend?'.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 周末 | zhōu mò | weekend |
| 睡懒觉 | shuì lǎn jiào | to have a lie-in |
| 逛街 | guàng jiē | to go shopping; to wander the shops |
| 宅在家 | zhái zài jiā | to stay in (homebody) |
| 大扫除 | dà sǎo chú | big clean |
| 聚会 | jù huì | get-together |
| 出去玩 | chū qù wán | to go out and have fun |
| 郊游 | jiāo yóu | outing to the countryside |
| 爬山 | pá shān | to go hiking up a mountain |
| 加班 | jiā bān | to work overtime |
| 休息 | xiū xi | to rest |
| 双休 | shuāng xiū | two-day weekend |
| 周一 | zhōu yī | Monday |
| 计划 | jì huà | plan |
| 过得怎么样 | guò de zěn me yàng | how was it? |
Usage tips
- Days of the week can be said with 周 (zhōu), 星期 (xīng qī) or the more colloquial 礼拜 (lǐ bài), so Monday is 周一, 星期一 or 礼拜一; 周 is especially common in writing and schedules.
- 宅 (zhái) originally means a residence, but as a verb it means staying in by choice, and a 宅男 (zhái nán) or 宅女 (zhái nǚ) is a homebody.
- 双休 (shuāng xiū) means a normal two-day weekend; people mention it because some jobs only give 单休 (dān xiū), one day off a week.
Common mistakes
- Putting 周末 at the end like English 'I rest at the weekend' → time words go before the verb: 我周末休息 (wǒ zhōu mò xiū xi).
- Answering 周末过得怎么样？ with 我过了好 → the comment goes after 得: 过得很好 (guò de hěn hǎo) or 过得不错 (guò de bù cuò).
Mini dialogue
- A周末过得怎么样？Zhōu mò guò de zěn me yàng?How was your weekend?
- B挺好的！周六睡懒觉，下午和朋友逛街。Tǐng hǎo de! Zhōu liù shuì lǎn jiào, xià wǔ hé péng you guàng jiē.Pretty good! I had a lie-in on Saturday and went shopping with friends in the afternoon.
- A真羡慕你。我这个周末又加班了。Zhēn xiàn mù nǐ. Wǒ zhè ge zhōu mò yòu jiā bān le.I'm so jealous. I had to work again this weekend.
- B太辛苦了！下个周末一起去爬山吧。Tài xīn kǔ le! Xià ge zhōu mò yī qǐ qù pá shān ba.That's rough! Let's go hiking together next weekend.
Example sentences
- 周末你一般做什么？What do you usually do at weekends?
- 周六我要睡懒觉。I'm having a lie-in on Saturday.
- 我和朋友去逛街。I'm going shopping with friends.
- 这个周末我想宅在家。I want to stay in this weekend.
- 周日在家大扫除。Big clean at home on Sunday.
- 周六晚上有个聚会。There's a get-together on Saturday night.
- 天气好，出去玩吧！The weather's nice, let's go out!
- 我们周末去郊游。We're going on a trip to the countryside this weekend.
- 周日早上去爬山。Hiking on Sunday morning.
- 这个周末又要加班。I've got to work this weekend again.
- 周末好好休息一下。Get some proper rest at the weekend.
- 我们公司是双休。We get two days off a week at my company.
- 又到周一了！It's Monday again!
- 你周末有什么计划？What are your plans for the weekend?
- 周末过得怎么样？How was your weekend?
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The The weekend speaking island has 8 everyday questions about the weekend to prepare your own answers to.