Days of the Week in Mandarin: The 3 Systems and How to Use Them
沉浸 TeamAugust 16, 20263 min readThe days of the week in Mandarin are just numbers: Monday is "week-one," Tuesday is "week-two," and only Sunday breaks the pattern. If you can count to seven (see Chinese numbers 1-10), you already know the week. Here's the full list, the three interchangeable systems, and how to use them in real sentences.
The days, using 星期 (xīngqī)
- Monday: 星期一 (xīngqīyī): week-one
- Tuesday: 星期二 (xīngqī'èr): week-two
- Wednesday: 星期三 (xīngqīsān): week-three
- Thursday: 星期四 (xīngqīsì): week-four
- Friday: 星期五 (xīngqīwǔ): week-five
- Saturday: 星期六 (xīngqīliù): week-six
- Sunday: 星期天 (xīngqītiān) or 星期日 (xīngqīrì): week-heaven / week-sun
The week starts on Monday, and Sunday gets a word (天 "heaven/day" in speech, 日 "sun" in writing) instead of a number. That's the entire system.
The three systems: 星期, 周, 礼拜
Mandarin has three words for "week," and all three take the same numbers:
- 星期 (xīngqī): the standard, textbook form. 星期五 = Friday.
- 周 (zhōu): shorter and common in writing, schedules, and business. 周五 = Friday, 周末 (zhōumò) = weekend.
- 礼拜 (lǐbài): colloquial, literally "worship" (from church schedules); common in the south and Taiwan. 礼拜五 = Friday, and Sunday is 礼拜天.
They're fully interchangeable; pick 星期 to learn first, and recognize the other two when you hear them. One habit worth copying: 周 only combines with 日 for Sunday (周日), never 天.
Using days in sentences
No "on," no capital letters, no conjugation. The day just sits before the verb, usually after the subject:
- 今天星期几？(Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?): What day is it today? (literally "Today week-how-many?")
- 今天星期三。(Jīntiān xīngqīsān.): It's Wednesday. No "is" needed; days work like adjectives here.
- 我星期五有课。(Wǒ xīngqīwǔ yǒu kè.): I have class on Friday.
- 我们周末见吧。(Wǒmen zhōumò jiàn ba.): See you on the weekend.
Useful modifiers: 上个星期 (last week), 这个星期 (this week), 下个星期 (next week), so "next Monday" is 下个星期一. The same 上/下 logic runs through the whole calendar.
Bonus: months are numbers too
The same trick covers the year. Month = number + 月 (yuè, moon/month): January is 一月 (yīyuè), August is 八月, December is 十二月. Dates run big-to-small, year → month → day: 2026年8月16日 (using 年 nián "year" and 日 rì, or spoken 号 hào, for the day). So "Monday, August 16" is 8月16号，星期一. Learn ten numbers, get the entire calendar free.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Sunday not use a number?
The seven-day week arrived in China along with foreign calendars and church schedules, so Sunday kept a special word: 日 (sun) formally, 天 in speech, and 礼拜天 ("worship day") colloquially. The other six days were simply numbered off from Monday.
Is there a difference between 星期天 and 星期日?
Same day. 星期天 is what you say; 星期日 is what calendars, timetables, and formal writing print. Use either and everyone understands.
How do I say "What day is it?"
今天星期几？(Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?). The answer swaps 几 ("how many") for the number: 今天星期二. Question and answer share the exact same shape, which makes this one of the easiest exchanges in early Mandarin.
Do Chinese speakers abbreviate days like "Mon" or "Fri"?
The 周 forms are the abbreviations: 周一 through 周日 are as short as it gets, two characters each, and that's what you'll see in app schedules and group chats.
Days and months are perfect first flashcards: tiny set, daily use. Create a free Chenjin account to hear each one in native audio and add the whole week to your reviews in about a minute.
