Days of the Week in Chinese

Today in Chinese

今天星期六。

Jīntiān xīngqī liù. Today is Saturday.

今天十月二十四号。

Jīntiān shí yuè èrshísì hào. Today is October 24. · How to read dates

How to say each day

• Monday in Chinese is 星期一 (xīngqī yī), literally “week one.” Without tone marks: xing qi yi.
• Tuesday in Chinese is 星期二 (xīngqī èr), literally “week two.” Without tone marks: xing qi er.
• Wednesday in Chinese is 星期三 (xīngqī sān), literally “week three.” Without tone marks: xing qi san.
• Thursday in Chinese is 星期四 (xīngqī sì), literally “week four.” Without tone marks: xing qi si.
• Friday in Chinese is 星期五 (xīngqī wǔ), literally “week five.” Without tone marks: xing qi wu.
• Saturday in Chinese is 星期六 (xīngqī liù), literally “week six.” Without tone marks: xing qi liu.
• Sunday in Chinese is 星期天 (xīngqī tiān) when you speak and 星期日 (xīngqī rì) in writing. Both endings mean “day”; there is no 星期七 (xīngqī qī). Without tone marks: xing qi tian, xing qi ri.

New to tone marks? Hear every pinyin sound on the pinyin chart.

Quiz

Which one means “Sunday”? 星期七 (xīngqī qī) · 星期六 (xīngqī liù) · 星期天 (xīngqī tiān)

Which word for “week”: 星期 (xīngqī), 周 (zhōu) or 礼拜 (lǐbài)?

All three take the same numbers and name the same days. Speak with 星期 (xīngqī), and learn to recognize the other two.

• 星期 (xīngqī): Neutral — safe everywhere. Textbooks, HSK, everyday speech. If you only learn one, learn this one: it is never wrong.
• 周 (zhōu): Slightly formal, very common in writing. News, email, calendars, business — and increasingly in speech. For standard week expressions, use the concise form without a measure word.
• 礼拜 (lǐbài): Casual, spoken. Southern mainland China, Taiwan, and family conversation. Its older sense is “religious service,” which explains its spoken Sunday form.

In traditional characters they are written 星期 (xīngqī), 週 (zhōu) and 禮拜 (lǐbài).

Ask “What day is it?”

Ask 今天星期几？ (Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?) and answer with the day itself.

• 今天星期几？ (Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?): What day is it today? Also 今天周几？ (Jīntiān zhōu jǐ?) · 今天礼拜几？ (Jīntiān lǐbài jǐ?).
• 今天星期三。 (Jīntiān xīngqī sān.): Today is Wednesday.
• 明天星期几？ (Míngtiān xīngqī jǐ?): What day is it tomorrow?
• 昨天星期几？ (Zuótiān xīngqī jǐ?): What day was it yesterday?
• 今天不是星期一，今天是星期二。 (Jīntiān bú shì xīngqī yī, jīntiān shì xīngqī èr.): Today isn’t Monday, today is Tuesday.

Use 几 (jǐ), not 什么 (shénme). Weekdays are numbered, so the question asks “which number?”

No 是 (shì) needed. A day can be the whole answer: 今天星期三 (jīntiān xīngqī sān). Add 是 (shì) only to deny it or stress it.

Yesterday, tomorrow and next week

Around today

• 前天 (qiántiān): the day before yesterday
• 昨天 (zuótiān): yesterday
• 今天 (jīntiān): today
• 明天 (míngtiān): tomorrow
• 后天 (hòutiān): the day after tomorrow

Around this week

• 上个星期 (shàng ge xīngqī): last week Also 上周 (shàng zhōu).
• 这个星期 (zhè ge xīngqī): this week Also 本周 (běn zhōu).
• 下个星期 (xià ge xīngqī): next week Also 下周 (xià zhōu).

More week words

• 每个星期 (měi ge xīngqī): every week Also 每周 (měi zhōu).
• 一个星期 (yí ge xīngqī): one week Also 一周 (yì zhōu). The word for “one” changes tone before the measure word and again before the concise week form.
• 周末 (zhōumò): the weekend
• 这个周末 (zhè ge zhōumò): this weekend
• 工作日 (gōngzuòrì): weekday, working day

上个星期 (shàng ge xīngqī) takes the measure word 个 (ge); the concise 上周 (shàng zhōu) never does. More on Chinese measure words.

Use the days in a sentence

The day goes before the verb, and Chinese needs no word for “on.”

• 我星期一上课。 (Wǒ xīngqī yī shàng kè.): I have class on Monday.
• 我星期三学中文。 (Wǒ xīngqī sān xué Zhōngwén.): I study Chinese on Wednesday.
• 我星期一到星期五上班。 (Wǒ xīngqī yī dào xīngqī wǔ shàng bān.): I work Monday to Friday.
• 我星期天有空。 (Wǒ xīngqī tiān yǒu kòng.): I’m free on Sunday.
• 你星期几有空？ (Nǐ xīngqī jǐ yǒu kòng?): Which day are you free?
• 星期一见！ (Xīngqī yī jiàn!): See you on Monday!

Months and dates in Chinese

Months are a number plus 月 (yuè), from 一月 (yī yuè), January, to 十二月 (shí'èr yuè), December.

Saying a date

Chinese dates run from the biggest unit to the smallest: year, month, day, then the weekday. Say 号 (hào) for the day and write 日 (rì), as in 10月5日 (shí yuè wǔ rì).

2026年10月5号 星期一
èr líng èr liù nián shí yuè wǔ hào, xīngqī yī · Monday, October 5, 2026

Year: 2026年 (èr líng èr liù nián) → Month: 10月 (shí yuè) → Day: 5号 (wǔ hào) → Weekday: 星期一 (xīngqī yī)

星期几 (xīngqī jǐ) or 几号 (jǐ hào)?

Ask 星期几 (xīngqī jǐ) for the day of the week and 几号 (jǐ hào) for the date.

• 今天星期几？ (Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?): What day is it today? Also 今天周几？ (Jīntiān zhōu jǐ?) · 今天礼拜几？ (Jīntiān lǐbài jǐ?).
• 今天几号？ (Jīntiān jǐ hào?): What’s the date today? This question asks for the day of the month, not the day of the week.
• 今天五月三号。 (Jīntiān wǔ yuè sān hào.): Today is May 3rd.

Print or study more: Months & dates in Chinese · Seasons & months · Numbers for prices, dates & time (PDF)

Five common mistakes

1. Not 星期七 (xīngqī qī) but 星期日 / 星期天 (xīngqī rì / xīngqī tiān), “Sunday.” Sunday breaks the number pattern in every system. Use the dedicated Sunday form instead of adding seven.
2. Not 我星期一是上课。 (Wǒ xīngqī yī shì shàng kè.) but 我星期一上课。 (Wǒ xīngqī yī shàng kè.), “I have class on Monday..” A verb phrase does not take “to be” here. Put the weekday directly before the action.
3. Not 我上课星期一。 (Wǒ shàng kè xīngqī yī.) but 我星期一上课。 (Wǒ xīngqī yī shàng kè.), “I have class on Monday..” The weekday goes before the verb, not after it.
4. Not 上个周 (shàng ge zhōu) but 上周 / 上个星期 (shàng zhōu / shàng ge xīngqī), “last week.” For standard week expressions, the concise form takes no measure word; the standard form does.
5. Not 今天星期什么？ (Jīntiān xīngqī shénme?) but 今天星期几？ (Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?), “What day is it today?.” Weekdays are numbered, so use the numbered question word rather than the general word for “what.”

Keep going

• Months and Dates in Chinese: Hear the 12 months and say any date.
• Print the 7 days: A tracing worksheet for 星期一 (xīngqīyī) to 星期天 (xīngqītiān), free to print.
• Time words workbook: Yesterday, today, next week: a free 22-page PDF.

Sing them: “Sunday Again”: A short HSK 1 song that drills the days.

Worksheet packs: Days, weeks & months · Seasons & months · Asking today’s date · Telling the time

More everyday Chinese: how to say sorry.

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