Lesson 2.7: Date and Time
Let’s wrap up Unit 2 by briefly talking about the Chinese date and time system.
Date
To name a year in Chinese, name each digit of the year one at a time, then add the character 年 (nián, year). For 0, it’s conventional to use the character 〇 (líng, zero) instead of 零.
Example: 二〇二五年 (èr líng èr wǔ nián, 2025)
Example: 一九八四年 (yī jiǔ bā sì nián, 1984)
Example: 一九〇〇年 (yī jiǔ líng líng nián, 1900)
Naming months is even simpler: give the number of the month followed by the character 月 (yuè, month).
Example: 一月 (yī yuè, January)
Example: 十月 (shí yuè, October)
Example: 十二月 (shí èr yuè, December)
And to name a day of the month, give the number of the day followed by either 日 (rì, day) or 号 (hào, date). 日 is more common in formal or written Chinese, while 号 is more common in casual and spoken Chinese.
Example: 五日 or 五号 (wǔ rì / wǔ hào, the fifth)
Example: 十九日 or 十九号 (shí jiǔ rì / shí jiǔ hào, the nineteenth)
Example: 三十一日 or 三十一号 (sān shí yī rì / sān shí yī hào, the thirty-first)
You can combine any or all of those components in the order year–month–day, from largest to smallest.
Example: 一月五号 (yī yuè wǔ hào, January 5th)
Example: 一九八四年十月 (yī jiǔ bā sì nián shí yuè, October 1984)
Example: 一九〇〇年十二月三十一日 (yī jiǔ líng líng nián shí èr yuè sān shí yī rì, December 31st, 1900)
Also, as with any time numbers are used, you have the option to use Chinese numerals or Arabic numerals.
Example: 1月5号 (yī yuè wǔ hào, January 5th)
Example: 1984年10月 (yī jiǔ bā sì nián shí yuè, October 1984)
Example: 1900年12月31日 (yī jiǔ líng líng nián shí èr yuè sān shí yī rì, December 31st, 1900)
Days of the Week
The days of the week are named by their numbers, just like the months. Simply say 星期 (xīng qī, week) + the number of the day, with Monday being number one. Sunday is irregular.
- 星期一 (xīng qī yī, Monday)
- 星期二 (xīng qī èr, Tuesday)
- 星期三 (xīng qī sān, Wednesday)
- 星期四 (xīng qī sì, Thursday)
- 星期五 (xīng qī wǔ, Friday)
- 星期六 (xīng qī liù, Saturday)
- 星期日 or 星期天 (xīng qī rì / xīng qī tiān, Sunday)
Time
To give an even-hour time in Chinese (a time that ends with “o’clock” in English), give the number of the hour + either 点 (diǎn, o’clock) or 点钟 (diǎn zhōng, o’clock).
Example: 两点 (liǎng diǎn, two o’clock)
Example: 五点钟 (wǔ diǎn zhōng, five o’clock)
Example: 十一点 (shí yī diǎn, eleven o’clock)
点 literally means “dot” as in dots on a clock to mark each hour, so 两点 literally means “two dots.” In that phrase, “two” acts as a cardinal number, which is why you use 两 (liǎng) instead of 二 (èr).
To give times with a minute value, you’ll learn the character 分 (fēn, minute). Follow the format [hour]点[minute] or [hour]点[minute]分.
Example: 一点三十 (yī diǎn sān shí, 1:30)
Example: 四点四十三分 (sì diǎn sì shí sān fēn, 4:43)
Example: 十二点五十五分 (shí èr diǎn wǔ shí wǔ fēn, 12:55)
If the minute number is less than ten, put 零 (líng, zero) before it, just like how we say “six o’five” instead of “six five” in English.
Example: 六点零五 (liù diǎn líng wǔ, 6:05)
There are abbreviations for certain minute values that you can use if you’d like: 一刻 (yī kè, a quarter) for 15, 半 (bàn, half) for 30, and 三刻 (sān kè, three quarters) for 45.
Example: 一点一刻 (yī diǎn yī kè, 1:15)
Example: 六点半 (liù diǎn bàn, 6:30)
Example: 八点三刻 (bā diǎn sān kè, 8:45)
Both 12-hour and 24-hour time are common in Chinese. For 12-hour time, place 早上 (zǎo shàng, morning) before a.m. times and 晚上 (wǎn shàng, evening) before p.m. times.
Example: 早上四点 (zǎo shàng sì diǎn, 4:00 a.m.) or 四点 (sì diǎn, 4:00)
Example: 晚上八点 (wǎn shàng bā diǎn, 8:00 p.m.) or 二十点 (èr shí diǎn, 20:00)
As with dates, times can be given in Arabic numerals, but they are still pronounced the same.
Example: 四点三十 or 4:30 (sì diǎn sān shí, 4:30)
Putting it All Together
To put a date, weekday, and/or time together, just list them from largest to smallest: year, month, day of the month, weekday, hour, minute.
Example: 二〇〇七年三月十四日星期三早上六点半 (èr líng líng qī nián sān yuè shí sì rì xīng qī sān zǎo shàng liù diǎn bàn, Wednesday, March 14, 2007, at 6:30 a.m.)
Thank you very much!
And with that, you’ve finished all of Tongue of Fire’s Chinese course that’s been released so far! Congratulations on making it to the end. We eventually plan to add more course content after creating courses for other languages and improving some other features. In the meantime, please use all of our practice features as much as you’d like. Also, feel free to read other online guides to grammar concepts beyond those taught here.
We have full confidence that you have what it takes to become fluent in Chinese. Just remember to practice consistently, immerse yourself when you’re ready, and most importantly, never give up.
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