Hi there, nice to meet you again! In our previous lesson, we have learned how to tell clock time in Chinese. Next, let's go further to learn more about time periods in a day and how to express the date, month, and year in Chinese.
Chinese Time Vocabulary - From Day to Night
In ancient China, people did not have 24-hour clocks like we do, so they used some time period to represent time. Just a quick heads up--these words are a lot!
But in this article, let’s learn some common ones that are good enough for you in daily life.
Representative time period | Representative time period | Representative time period |
|---|---|---|
早上 | zǎo shang | around 5 a.m. to 8 or 9 a.m., it’s about dawn until the beginning of morning work hours. |
上午 | shàng wǔ | around 8 or 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. |
中午 | zhōng wǔ | around 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
下午 | xià wǔ | around 1p.m. to 6 p.m., it’s about the time before dark, basically equivalent to “afternoon” in English. |
白天 | bái tiān | around 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., basically equivalent to “daytime” in English. The word literally means the sky is bright. |
晚上 | wǎn shàng | around 6 p.m. to 12 a.m., the night time. |
半夜 | bàn yè | around 12 a.m. like “midnight” in English. |
凌晨 | líng chén | around 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., the time before dawn. |
The ancient Chinese people started a day from 23 p.m. instead of 12 a.m., and divided a day into 12 Shichen（时辰）. Every Shichen has a specific name. But, this ancient time system has been abandoned by most modern Chinese, except one, 午（wǔ）. “午” in 12 Shichen refers to the time between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
I think the word “午” has continued to be used by modern Chinese people, probably because the lunch break time is very important for everyone. And, literally, “上午” means “the time before 午”.
“中午” means “right at the 午”,and “下午” means “the time after 午”.
Chinese Time Vocabulary – Specific Date
The words below are just the same as vocabulary “year” “month” and “date” in English. It should be noted that the “日” and “号” can both be used to describe the date.
“日” is more commonly used for written language, and “号” is more commonly used for spoken language.
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
年 | nián | year(s) |
月 | yue | month(s) |
日 | rì | date(s) |
号 | hào | date(s) |
Unlike English, fortunately, you don't need to remember particular words for each month, just add the number before the character “月”. Both Chinese characters or Arabic numbers are okay to use.
For example, “3月” or “三月”. And this also works for years and dates, like“2006年” or “二零零六年”, “3月23日” or “三月二十三日”.Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
一月/1月 | yī yuè | January |
二月/2月 | èr yuè | February |
三月/3月 | sān yuè | March |
四月/4月 | sì yuè | April |
五月/5月 | wǔ yuè | May |
六月/6月 | liù yuè | June |
七月/7月 | qī yuè | July |
八月/8月 | bā yuè | August |
九月/9月 | jiǔ yuè | September |
十月/10月 | shí yuè | October |
十一月/11月 | shí yī yuè | November |
十二月/12月 | shí èr yuè | December |
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
农历/阴历 | nóng lì / yīn lì | lunar calendar |
公历/阳历 | gong lì / yang lì | Gregorian calendar |
Traditional Chinese festivals, like the Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, are based on the lunar calendar.
When you ask your Chinese friends’ birthday, maybe some of them will tell you a lunar date; you’d better ask if it is a lunar or a Gregorian one, to avoid giving them gifts on a wrong date.
Chinese Time Vocabulary – Weeks
In Chinese, there are three words that can represent week, “星期” “周” or “礼拜”.
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
星期 | xīng qī | week(s) |
周 | zhōu | week(s) |
礼拜 | lǐ bài | week(s) |
From Monday to Saturday, like months in Chinese, you don’t need to memorize specific words to indicate each day. You just need to put a number before the words that represent “week” in Chinese, and this number can only be used in Chinese one.
Sunday is a little bit different, we say “星期日” or “星期天”. Please see the table below.Chinese Character | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
星期一/周一/礼拜一 | xīng qī yī /zhōu yī /lǐ bài yī | Monday |
星期二/周二/礼拜二 | xīng qī èr /zhōu èr / lǐ bài èr | Tuesday |
星期三/周三/礼拜三 | xīng qī sān/ zhōu sān / lǐ bài sān | Wednesday |
星期四/周四/礼拜四 | xīng qī sì /zhōu sì / lǐ bài sì | Thursday |
星期五/周五/礼拜五 | xīng qī wǔ/ zhōu wǔ / lǐ bài wǔ | Friday |
星期六/周六/礼拜六 | xīng qī liù /zhōu liù /lǐ bài liù | Saturday |
星期日/周日/礼拜日 | xīng qī rì /zhōu rì /lǐ bài rì | Sunday |
星期天/周天/礼拜天 | xīng qī tiān /zhōu tiān/ lǐ bài tiān | Sunday |
Chinese Time Vocabulary – Other Expressions You Should Know
There are also some important expressions that will be used when talking about time. Here are some lists for your reference.
Chinese Vocabulary for Dates
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
number +天前 | ……tiān qián | …… days ago |
大前天 | dà qián tiān | 2 days before yesterday |
前天 | qián tiān | the day before yesterday |
昨天 | zuó tiān | yesterday |
今天 | jīn tiān | today |
明天 | míng tiān | tomorrow |
后天 | hòu tiān | the day after tomorrow |
大后天 | dà hòu tiān | two days after tomorrow |
number +天后 | ……tiān hòu | …… days later |
Chinese Vocabulary for Weeks
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
number + (个) 星期/周/礼拜 + 前 | ……(gè) xīng qī / zhōu /lǐ bài qián | …… weeks ago |
上上（个）+ 星期/周/礼拜 | shàng shàng (gè) xīng qī /zhōu /lǐ bài | two weeks ago |
上（个）+ 星期/周/礼拜 | shàng (gè) xīng qī /zhōu/ lǐ bài | a week ago |
这（个） + 星期/周/礼拜 | zhè (ge) xīng qī / zhōu / lǐ bài | this week |
本 + 星期/周 | běn xīng qī / zhōu | this week |
下（个）+ 星期/周/礼拜 | xià (gè) xīng qī / zhōu /lǐ bài | next week |
下下（个）星期/周/礼拜 | xià xià (gè) xīng qī / zhōu / lǐ bài | two weeks later |
number +（个）星期/礼拜/周 + 后 | …… (gè) xīng qī /zhōu /lǐ bài hòu | ……weeks later |
工作日 | gong zuò rì | work days |
周末 | zhōu mò | weekends |
Chinese Vocabulary for Months
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
number + 个月前 | ……gè yuè qián | …… months ago |
上上个月 | shàng shàng gè yuè | two months ago |
上个月 | shàng gè yuè | a month ago |
这个月 | zhè ge yuè | this month |
本月 | běn yuè | this month |
下个月 | xià gè yuè | next month |
下下个月 | xià xià gè yuè | two months later |
number +个月后 | ……gè yuè hòu | …… months later |
月初 | yuè chū | the first few days of a month |
月末/月底 | yuè mò /yuè dǐ | the last few days of a month |
上旬 | shàng xún | 1st to 10th of a month |
中旬 | zhōng xún | 11th to 20th of a month |
下旬 | xià xún | days after 20th of a month |
Chinese Vocabulary for Years
Chinese Characters | Chinese Pinyin | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
number + 年前 | nián qián | …… years ago |
大前年 | dà qián nián | two years before last year |
前年 | qián nián | a year before last year |
去年 | qù nián | last year |
今年 | jīn nián | this year |
明年 | míng nián | next year |
后年 | hòu nián | the year after next year |
大后年 | dà hòu nián | two years after next year |
number + 年后 | nián hòu | …… years later |
年初 | niánchū | the first few days of a year |
年末/年底/年终 | nián mò / nián dǐ / nián zhōng | the last few days of a year |
上半年/ 前半年 | shàng bàn nián / qián bàn nián | first half of a year |
下半年/ 后半年 | xià bàn nián / hòu bàn nián | second half of a year |
How to ask date in Chinese?
After learning words above, you may have a question in mind: how to ask the date in Chinese? Here are some common sentence patterns for you to ask.
Chinese Characters | ……是几月几号 |
Chinese Pinyin | …… shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào? |
Meanings | What is the date for something (some day)? |
Examples | jīn tiān shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào? |
今天 是 几 月 几 号? | |
today is which month which date | |
what is the date today? |
Chinese Characters | ……是什么时候？ |
Chinese Pinyin | ……shì shén me shí hòu |
Meanings | When is something (some day)? |
Examples | huì yì shì shén me shí hòu? |
会议 是 什么 时候? | |
meeting is what time | |
When is the meeting? |
Chinese Characters | ……是哪天/哪个周/哪个月/哪年……? |
Chinese Pinyin | ……shì nǎ tiān /nà gè zhōu /nǎ ge yuè /nǎ nián……? |
Meanings | Which date / week/ month / year will (was) something(somebody) do (did)？ |
Examples | hánjià shì nǎ tiān kāishǐ |
寒假 是 哪 天 开始? | |
winter holiday is which date start | |
Which date will the winter holiday start? |
Chinese Characters | ……是星期/周/礼拜几? |
Chinese Pinyin | ……shì xīngqí jǐ ? |
Meanings | Which day of the week……?/What day is ……? |
Examples | liù yuè yī rì shì lǐbài jǐ |
6 月 1日是 礼拜 几？ | |
June 1st is week which | |
What day is June 1st? |
Exercise
Try to read and understand the following sentences.
Chinese Pinyin | nǐ de sheng rì shì shén me shí hòu |
Chinese Characters | 你的生日是什么时候？ |
Meaning | When is your birthday? |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ de sheng rì shì qī yuè liù rì |
Chinese Characters | 我的生日是7月6日 |
Meaning | My birthday is July 6th. |
Chinese Pinyin | nǐ jǐ hào qù zhōng guó |
Chinese Characters | 你几号去中国? |
Meaning | Which date will you go to China? |
Chinese Pinyin | zhè ge yuè shí sān hào |
Chinese Characters | 这个月13号。 |
Meaning | The 13th of this month. |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ shàng zhōu wǔ qù zhōng guó chū chāi le |
Chinese Characters | 我上周五去中国出差了。 |
Meaning | I went China for a business trip on last Friday. |
Chinese Pinyin | nián dù xiāo shòu mù biāo yù jì běn yuè zhōng xún wán chéng |
Chinese Characters | 年度销售目标预计本月中旬完成 |
Meaning | The annual sales target is expected to be completed in the middle of this month. |
Chinese Pinyin | nóng lì bā yuè shí wǔ rì shì zhōng qiū jié |
Chinese Characters | 农历八月十五日是中秋节 |
Meaning | The 15th August of Lunar calendar is the Mid-Autumn Festival. |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ míng tiān zǎo shang shí diǎn de huǒ chē qù shàng hǎi |
Chinese Characters | 我明天早上10点的火车去上海 |
Meaning | I'll take the 10 o'clock train to Shanghai tomorrow morning |
Chinese Pinyin | wǒ hé Steven jiàng zài èr líng èr líng nián sì yuè jiǔ rì jǔ xíng hūn lǐ. |
Chinese Characters | 我和Steven 将在2020年4月9日举行婚礼。 |
Meaning | Steven and I will have a wedding ceremony on April 9, 2020. |
Keep Practicing…
Whether you’ve struggled with telling time in Chinese or found it pretty easy, practicing it Chinese daily will help you get to grips with telling the time.
Every day we have to arrange schedules for ourselves or for others, and this is a good opportunity to practice speaking them in Chinese. So, the more you speak, the more perfect your Chinese will be! If you know any native Chinese-speakers, try and practice what you’ve learned with them.
Good luck and have fun!
