talkiNG aBoUt CloCk time aNd CaleNdar time
49.249.2.2.3 the names of the months
January 一月 yīyuè July 七月 qīyuè
February 二月 èryuè August 八月 bāyuè
March 三月 sānyuè September 九月 jiǔyuè
April 四月 sìyuè October 十月 shíyuè
May 五月 wǔyuè November 十一月 shíyī yuè
June 六月 liùyuè December 十二月 shí’èr yuèTo ask which month it is, say 几月？幾月？jǐ yuè? ‘which month?’你是几月生的？
你是幾月生的？
Nǐ shì jǐ yuè shēng de?
In which month were you born?49.2.3 Weeks
Mandarin has two words for ‘week’: 礼拜/禮拜 lǐbài and 星期 xīngqī.礼拜/禮拜 lǐbài was originally associated with religious services, but no longer has religious
connotations. Different regions of China have different preferences in the choice of the word
for week. 星期 xīngqī is the word used in calendars, newspapers, and formal documents.49.2.3.1 Counting weeks and asking about the number of weeks
To count weeks, use the classifier 个/個 gè:
one week 一个星期/一個星期 or 一个礼拜/一個禮拜
yī gè xīngqī yī gè lǐbài
two weeks 两个星期/兩個星期 or 两个礼拜/兩個禮拜
liǎng gè xīngqī liǎng gè lǐbài
three weeks 三个星期/三個星期 or 三个礼拜/三個禮拜
sān gè xīngqī sān gè lǐbài
To ask how many weeks, say:
几个星期？/ 幾個星期？ or 几个礼拜？/ 幾個禮拜？
jǐ gè xīngqī? jǐ gè lǐbài?
how many weeks? how many weeks?49.2.3.2 referring to weeks and weekends with respect to ‘now’
Expressions that refer to weeks:
this week 这个星期/這個星期 zhège xīngqī
next week 下个星期/下個星期 xià gè xīngqī
last week 上个星期/上個星期 shàng gè xīngqī
Expressions that refer to weekends:this weekend 这个周末/這個週末 zhège zhōumò
next weekend 下个周末/下個週末 xià gè zhōumò
last weekend 上个周末/上個週末 shàng gè zhōumò49.2.4 days
45.2.4.1 Counting days and asking about the number of days
To count days, put the number right before the word for ‘day.’ No additional classifier is used:
one day 一天 yī tiān
two days 两天/兩天 liǎng tiān
three days 三天 sān tiān