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Dates and time in Chinese
Pick a date and a time and see how they’re written and said in Chinese, with the weekday, 两点, 半 and 刻 in the right places.
In Chinese
Thursday, October 1, 2026
2026年10月1日 星期四
- Said
- 二〇二六年十月一号
- All characters
- 二〇二六年十月一日
- Weekday
- 星期四 · 周四 · 礼拜四
15:30, afternoon
下午三点半
- Also
- 下午三点三十分
- Timetable
- 十五点三十分
Days of the week
Monday to Saturday are numbered: 星期 and one to six. Sunday is 日 in writing and 天 in speech. 周 is the short written form and 礼拜 the everyday spoken one.
| Day | Chinese | Short | Spoken |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 星期一 xīng qī yī | 周一 | 礼拜一 |
| Tuesday | 星期二 xīng qī èr | 周二 | 礼拜二 |
| Wednesday | 星期三 xīng qī sān | 周三 | 礼拜三 |
| Thursday | 星期四 xīng qī sì | 周四 | 礼拜四 |
| Friday | 星期五 xīng qī wǔ | 周五 | 礼拜五 |
| Saturday | 星期六 xīng qī liù | 周六 | 礼拜六 |
| Sunday | 星期日 xīng qī rì, said 星期天 xīng qī tiān | 周日 | 礼拜天 |
The 12 months
The months are numbered too: the number, then 月. No names to learn.
- January一月
- February二月
- March三月
- April四月
- May五月
- June六月
- July七月
- August八月
- September九月
- October十月
- November十一月
- December十二月
How to write the date
Biggest first: year, month, day, then the weekday. 2026年10月1日 星期四. The year is read digit by digit (二〇二六年 èr líng èr liù nián). Dates are written 日 and said 号: 十月一号 shí yuè yī hào.
Telling time
The hour is 点 and the minutes 分. Two o'clock is always 两点, never 二点. Half past is 半 and a quarter is 一刻, and close to the hour people count down with 差, “short of”.
| 3:00 | 三点 sān diǎn |
|---|---|
| 3:05 | 三点零五分 sān diǎn líng wǔ fēn |
| 3:10 | 三点十分 sān diǎn shí fēn |
| 3:15 | 三点一刻 sān diǎn yī kè or 三点十五分 sān diǎn shí wǔ fēn |
| 3:30 | 三点半 sān diǎn bàn or 三点三十分 sān diǎn sān shí fēn |
| 3:45 | 三点三刻 sān diǎn sān kè or 三点四十五分 sān diǎn sì shí wǔ fēn or 差一刻四点 chà yī kè sì diǎn |
| 3:55 | 三点五十五分 sān diǎn wǔ shí wǔ fēn or 差五分四点 chà wǔ fēn sì diǎn |
| 2:00 | 两点 liǎng diǎn |
| 12:00 | 十二点 shí èr diǎn |
Morning, afternoon, night
Chinese says the part of the day before the time, not a.m. and p.m. after it: 下午三点 xià wǔ sān diǎn is 3 p.m. Timetables and tickets use the 24-hour clock, 十五点 shí wǔ diǎn.
| Small hours0:00 to 5:00 | 凌晨 líng chén |
|---|---|
| Early morning5:00 to 9:00 | 早上 zǎo shang |
| Morning9:00 to noon | 上午 shàng wǔ |
| Noon12:00 to 1:00 | 中午 zhōng wǔ |
| Afternoon1:00 to 6:00 | 下午 xià wǔ |
| Evening and night6:00 to midnight | 晚上 wǎn shang |
Yesterday, today, tomorrow
Past and future are 前 and 后, last and next are 上 and 下: last week is “the week above”.
| Day | 前天 qián tiān 昨天 zuó tiān 今天 jīn tiān 明天 míng tiān 后天 hòu tiān |
|---|---|
| Week | 上个星期 shàng ge xīng qī 这个星期 zhè ge xīng qī 下个星期 xià ge xīng qī |
| Month | 上个月 shàng ge yuè 这个月 zhè ge yuè 下个月 xià ge yuè |
| Year | 前年 qián nián 去年 qù nián 今年 jīn nián 明年 míng nián 后年 hòu nián |
Questions
How do you say the days of the week in Chinese?
Monday is 星期一 (xīng qī yī), and Tuesday to Saturday count up to 星期六. Sunday is 星期日 in writing and 星期天 in speech. 周一 and 礼拜一 mean the same.
How do you ask the date in Chinese?
Ask 今天几号？(jīn tiān jǐ hào?) for the date and 今天星期几？(jīn tiān xīng qī jǐ?) for the day of the week. Answer 今天十月一号 or 今天星期四.
How do you ask the time in Chinese?
Ask 现在几点？(xiàn zài jǐ diǎn?), “now, what hour?” Answer 现在三点半, it is half past three.
Is it 两点 or 二点?
Two o’clock is always 两点 (liǎng diǎn). 二 comes back in 十二点, twelve o’clock, and in minutes like 两点二十分.
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