Lesson 4: Date, Day and Time
Learn to talk about dates, days of the week, and clock times, and understand why time comes before the verb in Chinese.
Overview
Talking about when things happen is essential for everyday life. This lesson covers the year, month, day, and time systems in Chinese, plus the days of the week. A key difference from English is that in Chinese, time expressions come before the verb rather than at the end of a sentence. Getting this word order right from the start will save you from a persistent habit that is hard to break later.
The vocabulary in this lesson is also your gateway to scheduling, making appointments, and understanding when things will happen.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson you can:
- State today's date, the current time, and the day of the week
- Ask what day or time it is
- Place time expressions correctly before the verb
- Describe yesterday, today, and tomorrow
Vocabulary
| Character | Pinyin | Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīntiān | noun | today | 今天几号？ |
| 明天 | míngtiān | noun | tomorrow | 明天见！ |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | noun | yesterday | 昨天我很忙。 |
| 年 | nián | noun | year | 今年是哪年？ |
| 月 | yuè | noun | month | 八月 (August) |
| 日 / 号 | rì / hào | noun | day of month | 三月八日 / 三月八号 |
| 星期 | xīngqī | noun | week, weekday | 星期一 (Monday) |
| 点 | diǎn | noun | o'clock | 三点 (three o'clock) |
| 分 | fēn | noun | minute | 三点十五分 |
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | noun | morning (a.m.) | 上午九点 |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | noun | afternoon (p.m.) | 下午三点 |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | noun | evening, night | 晚上八点 |
| 现在 | xiànzài | adverb | now | 现在几点？ |
| 什么时候 | shénme shíhou | phrase | when | 你什么时候来？ |
Grammar Focus
Pattern 1: Time before verb
Structure: Subject + Time Expression + Verb + Object
In Chinese, time words and phrases always come before the verb. This is the opposite of how English often places time at the end. Think of it as setting the scene before the action: you establish when first, then say what happened.
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我明天去北京。 | Wǒ míngtiān qù Běijīng. | I am going to Beijing tomorrow. |
| 她今天工作。 | Tā jīntiān gōngzuò. | She works today. |
| 我们八点吃饭。 | Wǒmen bā diǎn chīfàn. | We eat at eight o'clock. |
Common mistake: putting the time expression after the verb, like 我去北京明天. While native speakers will understand you, this word order sounds distinctly foreign.
Pattern 2: Year, month, day order
Structure: Year + 年 + Month + 月 + Day + 日/号
Chinese dates go from the largest unit to the smallest: year, then month, then day. This is actually more logical than the American system and close to the ISO date format. For informal speech, 号 is used instead of 日.
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 二零二六年五月三十日 | Èr líng èr liù nián wǔ yuè sānshí rì | May 30, 2026 |
| 今天是三月八号。 | Jīntiān shì sān yuè bā hào. | Today is March 8th. |
| 我的生日是十月一日。 | Wǒ de shēngrì shì shí yuè yī rì. | My birthday is October 1st. |
Common mistake: saying the month as an ordinal (like "the fifth month") rather than just the number plus 月. Just say the number: 五月, not 第五月.
Pattern 3: Days of the week
Structure: 星期 + Number (1-6 for Monday-Saturday, 天/日 for Sunday)
Days of the week in Chinese use a numbered system based on 星期. Monday is literally "week one," Tuesday "week two," and so on. Sunday breaks the pattern slightly: it is 星期天 or 星期日.
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 今天是星期几？ | Jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? | What day is today? |
| 我星期三有课。 | Wǒ xīngqīsān yǒu kè. | I have class on Wednesday. |
| 星期天我休息。 | Xīngqītiān wǒ xiūxi. | I rest on Sunday. |
Common mistake: using 几 to ask the day of the week but forgetting to include 星期 in the answer: say 今天是星期三, not just 今天是三.
Dialogue
Two friends making plans for the week.
小明: 今天几号？ Jīntiān jǐ hào? What is today's date?
小红: 今天是五月三十号，星期五。 Jīntiān shì wǔ yuè sānshí hào, xīngqīwǔ. Today is May 30th, Friday.
小明: 你明天有空吗？我们一起去看电影。 Nǐ míngtiān yǒu kòng ma? Wǒmen yīqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng. Are you free tomorrow? Let's go see a movie together.
小红: 明天是星期六，我上午有事。下午几点？ Míngtiān shì xīngqīliù, wǒ shàngwǔ yǒu shì. Xiàwǔ jǐ diǎn? Tomorrow is Saturday, I am busy in the morning. What time in the afternoon?
小明: 下午三点，怎么样？ Xiàwǔ sān diǎn, zěnmeyàng? How about three in the afternoon?
小红: 好，三点见！ Hǎo, sān diǎn jiàn! Good, see you at three!
Practice
Exercise 1: Fill in the blank
- 今天是 __ 月 __ 号？(what / what)
- 我 __ 上午去医院。(tomorrow)
- 现在 __ 点了？(how many)
- 她 __ 工作，今天休息。(yesterday)
- 下午 __ 点我有课。(two)
Exercise 2: Translate to Chinese
- Today is Monday.
- I go to school at eight o'clock every morning.
- What day is the day after tomorrow?
- Yesterday was March 7th.
- She will come on Thursday afternoon.
Exercise 3: Answer these questions
- 今天是几月几号星期几？
- 你几点起床？
- 你昨天做什么了？
Cultural Note
In China, important dates are often expressed without the year when the context is clear, so you will hear 六月一号 (June 1st) for Children's Day or 十月一日 (October 1st) for National Day without anyone stating the year. The Chinese New Year is an exception: because it falls on a different date each year according to the lunar calendar, people often say 春节 (Chūnjié, Spring Festival) rather than giving a specific date. The week also starts on Monday in China, not Sunday as in the American convention, which is why 星期一 (week-one) maps to Monday. Knowing this matters when reading calendars, timetables, and weekly planners in China.