Chinese Grammar Bank
DATES IN CHINESE
Writing dates in Chinese is easy once you know how. If you have already learned to count to 30 in Mandarin, you are ready to start learning dates!
In Chinese we follow the order of big to small when writing dates, rather than small to big as in English.
Years in Chinese
For years, each number of the year is read individually and then the character 年 is added at the end.
PATTERN
👉 2024年 is read as èr líng èr sì nián
TOP TIP || In a more formal context, such as a wedding invitation, the date is written out in all characters as 二零二四年。
When writing or speaking about the year, the character 年 is not optional.
If you simply say the numbers of the year without adding 年 at the end, it will just sound like random string of numbers. Do not forget the 年 at the end!
Months in Chinese
Months are written following the formula: Number + 月. It’s dead simple. Unlike most other languages, you don’t need to learn 12 separate words.
In Mandarin, if you can count to 12, then just add 月, you’ve got the months nailed down just like that.
The character 月 originally means “moon.” Since one month is the cycle of one moon, this makes a lot of sense!
Just like with years, the number can be written either in numeric digits or with the characters.
Writing the date in characters exclusively is typically reserved for formal occasions, such as inviting someone to a 100-day celebration to celebrate the birth of a new child.
Days in Chinese
Dates are expressed with the number of the date followed by either the character 日 or 号.
The 21st, for example, can be either 21日 or 21号
As a beginner, you can memorise one, but both are used commonly and thus worth learning.
This is also a good opportunity to practice the vocabulary for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Now let’s see how one of these words can be used in a basic conversation.
Days of the Week
Days of the week follow a simple numeric formula: 星期 + number.
Remember that whereas the number goes before 月 in months, for days of the week it goes after 星期.
NOTE – Sunday can also be written as 星期日 xīngqí rì.
Another way of writing the dates that is not always taught in beginning-level Chinese books but is very commonly used is the formation 周 + Number.
In this instance, 星期 is replaced by 周:
ASKING ABOUT THE DATE
Once you have learned how to talk about dates, months, years, and days of the week, learning how to ask about this information requires only one more character: 几。
Question word for numbers: 几 jǐ
Here’s a few examples of questions you might heard:
- 几月几号？
- jǐ yuè jǐ hào?
- What’s the month and date?
- 今天几月几号星期几？
- jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào xīngqí jǐ?
- What’s today’s date? (asking about month, date, and day of the week)
- 星期几？
- xīngqí jǐ?
- What day of the week?
- 今天星期几？
- jīntiān xīngqí jǐ?
- What’s the day of the week?
There you go! That’s how to write the date in Chinese, explained in full. Now, will you be able to answer the question 今天几号 (jīntiān jǐ hào)?
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FAQs
What is the Chinese date format?
The Chinese date format is: Year + Month + Day.
How to ask for the date in Chinese?
To ask about the date in Chinese you’ll need the question word for numbers: 几 jǐ.
If you ask about the month and date: 几月几号? jǐ yuè jǐ hào?
If you ask about the day of the week: 今天星期几? jīntiān xīngqí jǐ?
Do I have to know how to write the date?
Knowing how to write the date in Chinese will be very useful at school if you have to hand out papers for example, or when you have to fill out forms while in China.
How to say year in Chinese?
Year in Chinese is 年 nián.
How to say week in Chinese?
Week in Chinese is 星期 xīngqí.
How to say date in Chinese?
Date in Chinese is 日期 rìqí.