Difference between revisions of "Structure of days of the week"

Latest revision as of 09:23, 20 April 2021

Level

A1 / HSK1
Level

A1
Level

HSK1
Similar to
- Structure of dates (A1)
- Structure of numbers (A1)
- Structure of times (basic) (A1)
- Structure of times (advanced) (A2)
Similar to
- Structure of dates (HSK1)
- Structure of numbers (HSK1)
- Structure of times (advanced) (HSK1, HSK3)
- Structure of times (basic) (HSK1, HSK3)
Used for

Expressing time and date
Keywords

星期, 礼拜, 周

星期 (xīngqī) means "week" in Chinese. This is also used to indicate which weekday you are talking about.

Structure

Days of the week in Chinese are formed by the word "week" followed by a number:

English	Chinese
Monday	星期一Xīngqīyī
Tuesday	星期二Xīngqī'èr
Wednesday	星期三Xīngqīsān
Thursday	星期四Xīngqīsì
Friday	星期五Xīngqīwǔ
Saturday	星期六Xīngqīliù
Sunday	星期天Xīngqītiān

Notice that Sunday is the only exception. Rather than a number, 天 (tiān) is used. More formally, Sunday is also referred to as 星期日 (Xīngqīrì).

One other implication of this system that you may not have noticed: "day one" is Monday. In Chinese culture, the first day of the week is Monday, and not Sunday.

Examples

今天是 星期一 吗？是 is optionalJīntiān shì Xīngqīyī ma?Is today Monday?
明天 星期五，太高兴了。Optional 是 omittedMíngtiān Xīngqīwǔ, tài gāoxìng le.Tomorrow is Friday. I'm so happy.
星期三 我不在上海。Xīngqīsān wǒ bù zài Shànghǎi.I'm not here in Shanghai on Wednesday.
星期二 早上我很忙。Xīngqī'èr zǎoshang wǒ hěn máng.I am busy on Tuesday morning.
你 星期天 要做什么？Nǐ Xīngqītiān yào zuò shénme?What are you doing on Sunday?
上个 星期五 我跟他见面了。Shàng gè Xīngqīwǔ wǒ gēn tā jiànmiàn le.I met him last Friday.
这个 星期三 晚上你有空吗？Zhège Xīngqīsān wǎnshang nǐ yǒu kòng ma?Are you free this Wednesday evening?
下个 星期四 是我的生日。Xià gè Xīngqīsì shì wǒ de shēngrì.My birthday is on next Thursday.
这个 星期五 晚上我们要去酒吧。Zhège Xīngqīwǔ wǎnshang wǒmen yào qù jiǔbā.We're going to a bar this Friday night.
星期六 和 星期天 我们不上班。 Xīngqīliù hé Xīngqītiān wǒmen bù shàngbān.Saturday and Sunday we don't work.

Other Words for "Week"

Hopefully this doesn't freak you out, but there are actually two other ways to say "week" in Chinese. You should still learn 星期 (xīngqī) first, and that's really all you need as a beginner.

The other words for "week" are 礼拜 (lǐbài) and 周 (zhōu). Skip them for now unless you really need them.

Sources and further reading

Books

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Grammar Box}}
-There are several ways to refer to the days of the week in Chinese.  (Fortunately, they're all pretty easy.)
+星期 (xīngqī) means "week" in Chinese. This is also used to indicate which weekday you are talking about.
 == Structure ==
-Days of the week in Chinese are formed by the word ''week'' followed by a number:
+Days of the week in Chinese are formed by the word "week" followed by a number:
-<div class="liju">
+<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
+<tr>
-{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%"
+<th style="width:25%">English</th>
-|+Days of the week
+<th style="width:25%">Chinese</th>
-|-
+</tr>
-! Monday !! Tuesday !! Wednesday !! Thursday !! Friday !! Saturday !! Sunday
+<tr>
-|-
+<td>Monday</td>
-| 星期一 || 星期二 || 星期三 || 星期四 || 星期五 || 星期六 || 星期天
+<td>星期一<span class="pinyin">Xīngqīyī</span></td>
-|}
+</tr>
+<tr>
-</div>
+<td>Tuesday</td>
+<td>星期二<span class="pinyin">Xīngqī'èr</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Wednesday</td>
+<td>星期三<span class="pinyin">Xīngqīsān</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Thursday</td>
+<td>星期四<span class="pinyin">Xīngqīsì</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Friday</td>
+<td>星期五<span class="pinyin">Xīngqīwǔ</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Saturday</td>
+<td>星期六<span class="pinyin">Xīngqīliù</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sunday</td>
+<td>星期天<span class="pinyin">Xīngqītiān</span></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
-Notice that Sunday is the only exception. Rather than a number, 天 is used. More formally, Sunday is also referred to as 星期日.
+Notice that Sunday is the only exception. Rather than a number, 天 (tiān) is used. More formally, Sunday is also referred to as 星期日 (Xīngqīrì).
-As well as 星期, two other words for ''week'' can be used:
+One other implication of this system that you may not have noticed: "day one" is Monday. In Chinese culture, the first day of the week is Monday, and ''not'' Sunday.
-* 周
+== Examples ==
-* 礼拜
-So a more complete table of days of the week is:
 <div class="liju">
-{| class="wikitable"  style="width:100%"
+*今天 是 <em>星期一</em> 吗？<span class="expl">是 is optional</span><span class="pinyin">Jīntiān shì <em>Xīngqīyī</em> ma?</span><span class="trans">Is today Monday?</span>
-|+Other ways to say days of the week
+*明天 <em>星期五</em>，太 高兴 了。<span class="expl">Optional 是 omitted</span><span class="pinyin">Míngtiān <em>Xīngqīwǔ</em>, tài gāoxìng le.</span><span class="trans">Tomorrow is Friday. I'm so happy.</span>
-|-
+* <em>星期三</em> 我 不在 上海。<span class="pinyin"><Em>Xīngqīsān</em> wǒ bù zài Shànghǎi.</span><span class="trans">I'm not here in Shanghai on Wednesday.</span>
-! Monday !! Tuesday !! Wednesday !! Thursday !! Friday !! Saturday !! Sunday
+* <em>星期二</em> 早上 我 很 忙。<span class="pinyin"><Em>Xīngqī'èr</em> zǎoshang wǒ hěn máng.</span><span class="trans">I am busy on Tuesday morning.</span>
-|-
+* 你 <em>星期天</em> 要 做 什么？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>Xīngqītiān</em> yào zuò shénme?</span><span class="trans">What are you doing on Sunday?</span>
-| 星期一 || 星期二 || 星期三 || 星期四 || 星期五 || 星期六 || 星期天
+* 上 个 <em>星期五</em> 我 跟 他 见面 了。<span class="pinyin">Shàng gè <em>Xīngqīwǔ</em> wǒ gēn tā jiànmiàn le.</span><span class="trans">I met him last Friday.</span>
-|-
+* 这 个 <em>星期三</em> 晚上 你 有空 吗？<span class="pinyin">Zhège <em>Xīngqīsān</em> wǎnshang nǐ yǒu kòng ma?</span><span class="trans">Are you free this Wednesday evening?</span>
-| 周一 || 周二 || 周三 || 周四 || 周五 || 周六 || 周日/周天
+* 下 个 <em>星期四</em> 是 我 的 生日。<span class="pinyin">Xià gè <em>Xīngqīsì</em> shì wǒ de shēngrì.</span><span class="trans">My birthday is on next Thursday.</span>
-|-
+* 这个 <em>星期五</em> 晚上 我们 要 去 酒吧。<span class="pinyin">Zhège <em>Xīngqīwǔ</em> wǎnshang wǒmen yào qù jiǔbā.</span><span class="trans">We're going to a bar this Friday night.</span>
-| 礼拜一 || 礼拜二 || 礼拜三 || 礼拜四 || 礼拜五 || 礼拜六 || 礼拜天
+* <em>星期六</em> 和 <em>星期天</em> 我们 不 上班。<span class="pinyin"> <em>Xīngqīliù</em> hé <em>Xīngqītiān</em> wǒmen bù shàngbān.</span><span class="trans">Saturday and Sunday we don't work.</span>
-|}
 </div>
+== Other Words for "Week" ==
-== Example ==
+Hopefully this doesn't freak you out, but there are actually two other ways to say "week" in Chinese. You should still learn 星期 (xīngqī) first, and that's really all you need as a beginner.
+The other words for "week" are 礼拜 (lǐbài) and 周 (zhōu). Skip them for now unless you really need them.
-<div class="liju">
+== See Also ==
-*今天 是 <em>星期一</em> 吗？<span class="trans">Is today Monday?</span>
-*明天 <em>周五</em>，太 高兴 了。<span class="trans">Tomorrow is Friday, I'm so happy.</span>
-* <em>星期一</em> 我们 要 上班。<span class="trans">We will go to work on Monday.</span>
-* <em>星期二</em> 我 很 忙。<span class="trans">I am busy on Tuesday.</span>
-* 你 <em>周三</em> 要 做 什么？<span class="trans">What are you doing on Wednesday?</span>
-* 我们 <em>礼拜六</em> 和 <em>礼拜天</em> 不 在 上海。<span class="trans">Saturday and Sunday we will not be in Shanghai.</span>
-* 上 个 <em>星期三</em> 我 跟 他 见面 了。<span class="trans">Last Wednesday I met with him.</span>
-* 这 个 <em>星期三</em> 我 有空。<span class="trans">This Wednesday I (have time) am free.</span>
-* 下 个 <em>星期四</em> 是 我 的 生日。<span class="trans">Next Thursday is my birthday.</span>
-* 我们 每 个 <em>周五</em> 都 去 酒吧。<span class="trans">Every Friday we go to a bar.</span>
-</div>
-==See also==
 *[[Structure of numbers]]
 *[[Structure of dates]]
@@ Line 71: / Line 76: @@
 === Books ===
-* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (p. 123) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy]
+{{Source|HSK Standard Course 1|50}}
-* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (p. 142) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy]
+{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)|123}}
-* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (p. 72) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276709 →buy]
+{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)|142}}
+{{Source|Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)|72}}
 [[Category:A1 grammar points]]
+{{HSK|HSK1}}{{2021-HSK|HSK1}}
 [[Category:Table]]
 {{Used for|Expressing time and date}}
 {{Basic Grammar|星期|A1|星期 + Number|今天 <em>星期三</em> 。|grammar point|ASGVH4Q5}}
+{{Rel char|星期}}
 {{Rel char|礼拜}}
 {{Rel char|周}}