ade's notes

Days of the Week in Chinese

Days of the week in Mandarin Chinese have the following template:

Chinese Pinyin English
星期 [day] xīng qī [day] [day]
周 [day] zhōu [day] [day]
礼拜 [day] lǐ bài [day] [day]

Where [day] is a number from 1 to 6 for Monday to Saturday (i.e. 一， 二， 三，四，五) and is either 日 (rì) or 天 (tiān) for Sunday.

The word 二 (èr) is used for the number 2 instead of 两 (liǎng) which is often used for 2 in other contexts.

As shown, there are 3 different ways to say day names: 星期 (xīng qī), 周 (zhōu), and 礼拜 (lǐ bài).

星期 (xīng qī) is more standard, while 周 (zhōu) is more casual and used in spoken Mandarin.

礼拜 (lǐ bài) was historically introduced by Christianity and Islam, with the week starting on a Sunday instead of a Monday. The word has no religious connotation in usage however, and is used primarily in the Fujian province and its Hokkien dialiect.

Weekdays and weekends are referred to as follows:

Chinese Pinyin English
平日 píng rì weekday
周末 zhōu mò weekend

With no difference for the 星期 (xīng qī), 周 (zhōu), or 礼拜 (lǐ bài) variant used.

The full table of weekdays is given as follows:

Chinese Pinyin English
周 一, 星期 一, 礼拜 一 zhōu yī, xīng qī yī, lǐ bài yī Monday
周 二, 星期 二, 礼拜 二 zhōu èr, xīng qī èr, lǐ bài èr Tuesday
周 三, 星期 三, 礼拜 三 zhōu sān, xīng qī sān, lǐ bài sān Wednesday
周 四, 星期 四, 礼拜 四 zhōu sì, xīng qī sì, lǐ bài sì Thursday
周 五, 星期 五, 礼拜 五 zhōu wǔ, xīng qī wǔ, lǐ bài wǔ Friday
周 六, 星期 六, 礼拜 六 zhōu liù, xīng qī liù, lǐ bài liù Saturday
周 日, 星期 日, 星期 天, 礼拜 日, 礼拜 天 zhōu rì, xīng qī rì, xīng qī tiān, lǐ bài rì, lǐ bài tiān Sunday

Saying Days of the Week Using Using “This”, “Next”, “Last”, and “Every”’

English Chinese Pinyin Notes
this Monday 这周一 zhè zhōu yī Concise; common in writing or casual speech
  这个星期一 zhè ge xīngqī yī Slightly more formal or learner-friendly
next Monday 下周一 xià zhōu yī Standard; used naturally in both speech and writing
  下个星期一 xià ge xīngqī yī More explicit, especially in speech
last Monday 上周一 shàng zhōu yī Concise and common
  上个星期一 shàng ge xīngqī yī More common in spoken Mandarin
every Monday 每周一 měi zhōu yī Formal or concise writing
  每个星期一 měi ge xīngqī yī More natural in daily conversation

How it works

Add 个 when using 星期, especially in spoken Chinese:

Examples

  1. 我们这周一开了个会。
    Wǒmen zhè zhōu yī kāi le ge huì.
    “We had a meeting this Monday.”

  2. 你下个星期一有空吗？
    Nǐ xià ge xīngqī yī yǒu kòng ma?
    “Are you free next Monday?”

  3. 她每个星期一都去跳舞。
    Tā měi ge xīngqī yī dōu qù tiàowǔ.
    “She goes dancing every Monday.”

Cheatsheet

星期 (xīng qī) - Standard form
周 (zhōu) - Casual form
礼拜 (lǐ bài) - Regional form (Fujian)

Monday:    星期一/周一/礼拜一 (xīng qī yī/zhōu yī/lǐ bài yī)
Tuesday:   星期二/周二/礼拜二 (xīng qī èr/zhōu èr/lǐ bài èr)
Wednesday: 星期三/周三/礼拜三 (xīng qī sān/zhōu sān/lǐ bài sān)
Thursday:  星期四/周四/礼拜四 (xīng qī sì/zhōu sì/lǐ bài sì)
Friday:    星期五/周五/礼拜五 (xīng qī wǔ/zhōu wǔ/lǐ bài wǔ)
Saturday:  星期六/周六/礼拜六 (xīng qī liù/zhōu liù/lǐ bài liù)
Sunday:    星期日/周(日/天)/礼拜(日/天) (xīng qī rì/zhōu rì/tiān/lǐ bài rì/tiān)

Weekday: 平日 (píng rì)
Weekend: 周末 (zhōu mò)

See Also