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! 

jīnnián shì nǎ yī nián?

今年是哪一年?

What year is it this year?
jīnnián shì 2024 (èr líng èr sì) nián

今年是2024年。

This year is 2024.

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 , 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.

View the months in Chinese
HanziPinyinEnglish
一月yī yuèJanuary
二月èr yuèFebruary
三月sān yuèMarch
四月sì yuèApril
五月wǔ yuèMay
六月liù yuèJune
七月qī yuèJuly
八月bā yuèAugust
九月jiǔ yuèSeptember
十月shí yuèOctober
十一月shí yī yuèNovember
十二月shí èr yuèDecember

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.

zuótiān

昨天

Yesterday
jīntiān

今天

Today
míngtiān

明天

Tomorrow

Now let’s see how one of these words can be used in a basic conversation.

Zuótiān shì shénme rìqí

昨天是什么日期

What date was it yesterday?
Zuótiān shì 16 hào

昨天是16号

Yesterday was the 16th.
Shíjiānguò dé zhēn kuài!

时间过得真快!

Time flies!

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.

View the days of the week in Chinese here
HanziPinyinEnglish
星期一xīngqí yīMonday
星期二xīngqí èrTuesday
星期三xīngqí sānWednesday
星期四xīngqí sìThursday
星期五xīngqí wǔFriday
星期六xīngqí liùSaturday
星期天xīngqí tiānSunday

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:

View the other way to say the days of the week here
HanziPinyinEnglish
周一zhōu yīMonday
周二zhōu èrTuesday
周三zhōu sānWednesday
周四zhōu sìThursday
周五zhōu wǔFriday
周六zhōu liùSaturday
周天zhōu tiānSunday

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 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.

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