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.  

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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