Counting the days from Monday
The week starts on Monday: 星期一 is day one, 星期六 is day six. Sunday, the seventh day, is not 星期七 but 星期日 (xīngqīrì, "week-sun") in writing and 星期天 (xīngqītiān, "week-day") in everyday speech. Both are correct.
To ask what day it is, say 今天星期几？ (jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?, what day is it today?). The answer replaces 几 with the number: 今天星期三 (today is Wednesday).
星期, 周, and 礼拜
There are three words for "week" that all combine with the numbers the same way:
| Word | Monday | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| 星期 | 星期一 (xīngqīyī) | The standard word, everywhere |
| 周 (週) | 周一 (zhōuyī) | Written and formal: calendars, timetables, signs; Sunday is 周日 |
| 礼拜 (禮拜) | 礼拜一 (lǐbàiyī) | Casual speech, especially in southern China and Taiwan; Sunday is 礼拜天 |
Learn 星期 first; recognize the other two when you see them.
Today, tomorrow, and the days around them
The second table gives the words for days around today. Three of them are course words: 今天 ★ (today), 明天 ★ (tomorrow), and 昨天 ★ (yesterday). They all end in 天 ★ (day). 前天 and 后天 extend the pattern one more day back and forward.
For weeks, Chinese uses 上 ★ and 下 ★ with the measure word 个: 上个星期 is last week and 下个星期 is next week. 这个星期 is this week, and 周末 (zhōumò) is the weekend.
Where the day goes in a sentence
Time words go near the front, before the verb and never at the end:
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我星期五去北京。 | wǒ xīngqīwǔ qù Běijīng. | I’m going to Beijing on Friday. |
| 星期六你忙吗？ | xīngqīliù nǐ máng ma? | Are you busy on Saturday? |
| 明天见！ | míngtiān jiàn! | See you tomorrow! |
English puts "on Friday" at the end; Chinese puts 星期五 before the verb, and needs no word for "on". See goodbye in Chinese for 明天见.
Common mistakes
- Saying 星期七 for Sunday. It is 星期日 or 星期天.
- Starting the count on Sunday. In Chinese, 星期一 (day one) is Monday.
- Putting the day at the end of the sentence. 我星期五去, not 我去星期五.
- Adding a word for "on". Chinese has no preposition before days.