Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

Calendar time

49.2

To ask about the number of days, say:

几天？幾天？ jǐ tiān? how many days? (small number expected)

多少天？ duōshǎo tiān? how many days?

49.2.4.2 referring to days of the week and asking about days of the week
There are two sets of words for the days of the week. One is based on the word 礼拜/禮拜
lǐbài and the other is based on the word 星期 xīngqī. In both sets, the names of the days of
the week from Monday to Saturday include a number. Pay attention to the words for Sunday.
Sunday 礼拜天/禮拜天 星期天
lǐbài tiān xīngqī tiān
or or
礼拜日/禮拜日 星期日
lǐbài rì xīngqī rì
Monday 礼拜一/禮拜一 星期一
lǐbài yī xīngqī yī
Tuesday 礼拜二/禮拜二 星期二
lǐbài èr xīngqī èr
Wednesday 礼拜三/禮拜三 星期三
lǐbài sān xīngqī sān
Thursday 礼拜四/禮拜四 星期四
lǐbài sì xīngqī sì
Friday 礼拜五/禮拜五 星期五
lǐbài wǔ xīngqī wǔ
Saturday 礼拜六/禮拜六 星期六
lǐbài liù xīngqī liù

To say ‘last Tuesday,’ say:

上(个)星期二 or 上(个)礼拜二

上(個)星期二 or 上(個)禮拜二

shàng (gè) xīngqī èr or shàng (gè) lǐbài èr

To say ‘next Saturday,’ say:

下(个)星期六 or 下(个)礼拜六

下(個)星期六 or 下(個)禮拜六

xià (gè) xīngqī liù or xià (gè) lǐbài liù

To ask about days of the week, say:

星期几？ or 礼拜几？

星期幾？ 禮拜幾？

xīngqī jǐ? lǐbài jǐ?

what day of the week? what day of the week?

今天(是)星期几？

今天(是)星期幾？

Jīntiān (shì) xīngqī jǐ?

What day of the week is it today?

明天(是)礼拜几？

明天(是)禮拜幾？

Míngtiān (shì) lǐbài jǐ?

What day of the week is it tomorrow?

C34.1, 36.1, 37.8.1