Telling Time and Giving Dates in Chinese

Time expressions are among the most useful phrases for daily life, and Chinese makes them straightforward.

Asking the time

• 现在几点？ (Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?) — What time is it?
• 现在几点了？ — the same, more colloquial.

Telling the time

Use number + 点 (diǎn, o'clock):

• 三点 (sān diǎn) — 3:00
• 三点十分 (sān diǎn shí fēn) — 3:10
• 三点半 (sān diǎn bàn) — 3:30 (half)
• 三点一刻 (sān diǎn yí kè) — 3:15 (a quarter)
• 差五分四点 (chà wǔ fēn sì diǎn) — five to four, literally "lacking five minutes four o'clock"

For two o'clock, use 两点 (liǎng diǎn), not 二点.

Morning, afternoon, evening

• 早上 (zǎoshang) — early morning
• 上午 (shàngwǔ) — morning
• 中午 (zhōngwǔ) — noon
• 下午 (xiàwǔ) — afternoon
• 晚上 (wǎnshang) — evening

These come before the time: 下午三点 (3 p.m.).

Days of the week

• 星期一 (xīngqī yī) — Monday
• 星期二 — Tuesday
• 星期三 — Wednesday
• 星期四 — Thursday
• 星期五 — Friday
• 星期六 — Saturday
• 星期天 / 星期日 — Sunday

The pattern is easy: 星期 plus a number. In speech 周 (zhōu) is a short form: 周一 (Monday).

Months and dates

Months are number + 月: 一月 (January) to 十二月 (December). Dates use 号 (hào) in speech and 日 (rì) in writing: 五号 (the 5th).

Year–month–day order

Chinese follows the largest-to-smallest order:

• 二〇二六年十月五日 (èr líng èr liù nián shí yuè wǔ rì) — 5 October 2026.

Similarly, addresses run from largest to smallest, too.

Time words

• 今天 (jīntiān) — today
• 明天 (míngtiān) — tomorrow
• 昨天 (zuótiān) — yesterday
• 后天 (hòutiān) — the day after tomorrow
• 前天 (qiántiān) — the day before yesterday
• 今年 / 明年 / 去年 — this / next / last year
• 每天 (měitiān) — every day
• 现在 (xiànzài) — now

Where the time word goes

Time comes before the verb: 我明天下午三点见你。 (Wǒ míngtiān xiàwǔ sān diǎn jiàn nǐ.) — I'll see you tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Calendars

Traditional festivals follow the lunar calendar, so their dates change every year in the Gregorian calendar. Public holidays are announced by the government annually.

Practice

1. Tell the time every hour for a day.
2. Say today's date in Chinese.
3. Describe your weekly schedule.
4. Look up time words in a dictionary.

Look up time words with English Chinese Dictionary →