Dates and Days of the Week

Now that you know your numbers, you can say dates, days of the week, and talk about time relative to today — yesterday, next week, last month, and more.

Structure: Writing a Date

Date: Year + 年, Month + 月, Day + 号

今天是三月五号。 Jīntiān shì sān yuè wǔ hào. → Today is March 5th.

Asking for the date: 几月几号

今天几月几号？ Jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào? → What's the date today?

号 vs 日: 号 (hào) is the everyday spoken word for the day of the month. In writing or formal contexts, 日 (rì) replaces it: 三月五日 (sān yuè wǔ rì) means the same as 三月五号.

几 here means "which," not "how many": You already met 几 asking for a small quantity (几杯茶 = how many cups of tea). In 几月几号 and 星期几, 几 instead asks "which one" from a small fixed set — which month, which day, which day of the week — not a count.

Days of the Week

周 (zhōu) is just the everyday, slightly more casual word for "week" — swap it in for 星期 anywhere and the pattern still works: 周一, 周二, 周末...

周末 (zhōumò) means weekend. There's no separate word built from 星期 for this — 周末 is the fixed term everyone uses.

Asking for the day: 星期几 (or 周几 informally)

今天星期几？ Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? → What day of the week is today?

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow...

Five words cover two days in each direction from today:

昨天是星期四。 Zuótiān shì xīngqīsì. → Yesterday was Thursday.

后天是我的生日。 Hòutiān shì wǒ de shēngrì. → The day after tomorrow is my birthday.

This Week, Last Week, Next Week / Month

Week and month both use 上 (last), 这 (this), 下 (next) in front of a measure word:

星期 and 月 need 个 (上个星期, 这个月), but 周 drops it — 上周, not 上个周.

下周我们学习中文。 Xiàzhōu wǒmen xuéxí Zhōngwén. → Next week we study Chinese.

上个月是七月。 Shàng ge yuè shì qī yuè. → Last month was July.

This Year, Last Year, Next Year

The year does not follow the 上/这/下 pattern above — it has its own dedicated words:

今年是二零二六年。 Jīnnián shì èr líng èr liù nián. → This year is 2026.

去年是二零二五年。 Qùnián shì èr líng èr wǔ nián. → Last year was 2025.

"N Weeks/Months Ago" and "In N Weeks/Months"

Number + 个 + 星期/月 + 以前 (ago) or 以后 (later, "in...")

Use 两, not 二, in front of a measure word — the same rule from counting things with 个 (两个茶杯, not 二个茶杯).

两个星期以后我们有课。 Liǎng ge xīngqī yǐhòu wǒmen yǒu kè. → In two weeks we have class.

This phrase can go either before or after the subject: 两个星期以后我们有课 and 我们两个星期以后有课 are both natural.

Examples

今天几月几号？ Jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào?

Breakdown: 今天 (today) · 几月 (which month) · 几号 (which day)

→ What's the date today?

今天是三月五号。 Jīntiān shì sān yuè wǔ hào.

Breakdown: 今天 (today) · 是 (is) · 三月 (March) · 五号 (the 5th)

→ Today is March 5th.

明天是星期六，也是周末。 Míngtiān shì xīngqīliù, yě shì zhōumò.

Breakdown: 明天 (tomorrow) · 是 (is) · 星期六 (Saturday) · 也是周末 (is also the weekend)

→ Tomorrow is Saturday, and it's the weekend too.

我的生日是十月十号。 Wǒ de shēngrì shì shí yuè shí hào.

Breakdown: 我的 (my) · 生日 (birthday) · 是 (is) · 十月十号 (October 10th)

→ My birthday is October 10th.

昨天是星期四。 Zuótiān shì xīngqīsì.

Breakdown: 昨天 (yesterday) · 是 (is) · 星期四 (Thursday)

→ Yesterday was Thursday.

后天是我的生日。 Hòutiān shì wǒ de shēngrì.

Breakdown: 后天 (the day after tomorrow) · 是 (is) · 我的生日 (my birthday)

→ The day after tomorrow is my birthday.

下周我们学习中文。 Xiàzhōu wǒmen xuéxí Zhōngwén.

Breakdown: 下周 (next week) · 我们 (we) · 学习中文 (study Chinese)

→ Next week we study Chinese.

上个月是七月。 Shàng ge yuè shì qī yuè.

Breakdown: 上个月 (last month) · 是 (is) · 七月 (July)

→ Last month was July.

今年是二零二六年。 Jīnnián shì èr líng èr liù nián.

Breakdown: 今年 (this year) · 是 (is) · 二零二六年 (the year 2026)

→ This year is 2026.

两个月以前他在中国。 Liǎng ge yuè yǐqián tā zài Zhōngguó.

Breakdown: 两个月以前 (two months ago) · 他 (he) · 在中国 (was in China)

→ Two months ago he was in China.

Common Mistakes

Putting 号 before 月 in the question

- Incorrect: 今天几号几月？ Jīntiān jǐ hào jǐ yuè? - Correct: 今天几月几号？ Jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào? — What's the date today?

Fronting 星期几 like English "what day"

- Incorrect: 星期几今天？ Xīngqī jǐ jīntiān? - Correct: 今天星期几？ Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? — What day of the week is today?

Applying 上/这/下 to the year

- Incorrect: 上年是二零二五年。 Shàngnián shì èr líng èr wǔ nián. - Correct: 去年是二零二五年。 Qùnián shì èr líng èr wǔ nián. — Last year was 2025.

Adding 个 to 周

- Incorrect: 上个周是我的生日。 Shàng ge zhōu shì wǒ de shēngrì. - Correct: 上周是我的生日。 Shàngzhōu shì wǒ de shēngrì. — Last week was my birthday.

What Can You Say Now?

You can now state and ask for dates and days of the week, name the weekend, and place any event relative to today — from 前天 to 后天, and from 上个月 to 明年. Try saying today's actual date, the day of the week, and what you did 昨天 out loud in Chinese.

Quick Summary

Dates go largest to smallest: 年, then 月, then 号. Days of the week are 星期 (or the everyday 周) + 一 to 六, with 星期天/周日 for Sunday and 周末 for the weekend. Relative time radiates out from 今天 (前天/昨天 ← → 明天/后天) and from 这个 (上 ← → 下) for week and month — except the year, which uses its own words: 去年/今年/明年. Add 以前/以后 after a number + 星期/月 to say "ago" or "in...": 今天是三月五号，星期六。 Jīntiān shì sān yuè wǔ hào, xīngqīliù.