Learn Chinese: Days of the Week

Mastering the days of the week is a fundamental step in building your Chinese conversational skills, allowing you to schedule appointments, talk about your routine, and navigate travel plans. This lesson covers the primary ways to name the seven days, along with terms for the weekend and specific points in time. In Chinese, the naming convention for the days of the week is remarkably logical and follows a simple numerical pattern. Most days are formed by taking the word for week, 星期 (Xīngqī), and adding a number from one to six. For instance, Monday is 星期一 (Xīngqīyī), literally "week one," while Saturday is 星期六 (Xīngqīliù) or "week six." This pattern breaks only on Sunday, which uses words for sun or sky, resulting in 星期日 (Xīngqīrì) or the more colloquial 星期天 (Xīngqītiān).

You will also encounter a more concise system using the character 周 (Zhōu), such as 周一 (Zhōuyī) for Monday or 周末 (Zhōumò) for weekend. Beyond specific days, this lesson includes essential relative time terms like 今天 (Jīntiān) for today and 明天 (Míngtiān) for tomorrow. A helpful spatial pattern to note is how Chinese refers to previous and upcoming weeks; 上周 (Shàngzhōu) means last week, using the character for up, while 下周 (Xiàzhōu) means next week, using the character for down. Understanding these logical sequences will help you quickly grasp the flow of time in Chinese.