What Day Is It Today In Chinese?
Learn the everyday Chinese for asking the day and date: 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? and 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào?
If you want to ask “What day is it today?” in Chinese, the most useful question is 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? That asks for the day of the week, like Monday or Friday.
Beginners often mix that up with 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào? which asks for the date, like the 9th or the 21st. Same “today,” different target. Chinese is being helpful here. Humans are the messy part.
Yak Snark Box
Use 星期几 xīngqī jǐ for Monday to Sunday. Use 几号 jǐ hào for calendar dates. Ask the wrong one and people will still understand you sometimes, but your Chinese will wobble a bit.
The Main Phrase You Need
| Pattern | Meaning | Example In Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? | 今天星期几？ | jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? |
| 今天是星期几？ jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? | 今天是星期几？ | jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? |
| 今天星期一。 jīntiān xīngqī yī. | Today is Monday. | 今天星期一。 | jīntiān xīngqī yī. | Today is Monday. |
| 今天是星期五。 jīntiān shì xīngqī wǔ. | Today is Friday. | 今天是星期五。 | jīntiān shì xīngqī wǔ. | Today is Friday. |
You can say both 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? and 今天是星期几？ jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? The version without 是 shì sounds very natural in daily speech.
Visual Cards: High-Utility Words
今天 jīntiān
today
今天很热。 jīntiān hěn rè. — It is hot today.
昨天 zuótiān
yesterday
昨天是星期二。 zuótiān shì xīngqī èr. — Yesterday was Tuesday.
明天 míngtiān
tomorrow
明天是星期六。 míngtiān shì xīngqī liù. — Tomorrow is Saturday.
星期一 xīngqī yī
Monday
我星期一上班。 wǒ xīngqī yī shàngbān. — I work on Monday.
星期五 xīngqī wǔ
Friday
今天是星期五。 jīntiān shì xīngqī wǔ. — Today is Friday.
周末 zhōumò
weekend
周末我想休息。 zhōumò wǒ xiǎng xiūxi. — I want to rest on the weekend.
星期几 xīngqī jǐ
what day of the week
今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? — What day is it today?
几号 jǐ hào
what date
今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào? — What is today’s date?
Days Of The Week In Chinese
| Hanzi | Pinyin | Meaning | Example (ZH) | Example (Pinyin) | Translation (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 星期一 | xīngqī yī | Monday | 今天星期一。 | jīntiān xīngqī yī. | Today is Monday. |
| 星期二 | xīngqī èr | Tuesday | 明天是星期二。 | míngtiān shì xīngqī èr. | Tomorrow is Tuesday. |
| 星期三 | xīngqī sān | Wednesday | 我们星期三见。 | wǒmen xīngqī sān jiàn. | See you on Wednesday. |
| 星期四 | xīngqī sì | Thursday | 星期四我很忙。 | xīngqī sì wǒ hěn máng. | I am busy on Thursday. |
| 星期五 | xīngqī wǔ | Friday | 今天是星期五。 | jīntiān shì xīngqī wǔ. | Today is Friday. |
| 星期六 | xīngqī liù | Saturday | 星期六我们出去吃饭。 | xīngqī liù wǒmen chūqù chīfàn. | We are going out to eat on Saturday. |
| 星期日 / 星期天 | xīngqī rì / xīngqī tiān | Sunday | 星期天我在家。 | xīngqī tiān wǒ zài jiā. | I am at home on Sunday. |
Many people also say 周一 zhōuyī, 周二 zhōu’èr, 周三 zhōusān, and so on. That is shorter and common in speech. For Sunday, 周日 zhōurì and 周天 zhōutiān both exist.
Useful Phrases And Real-Life Sentences
- 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? — What day is it today?
今天星期三。 jīntiān xīngqī sān. — Today is Wednesday. - 今天是星期几？ jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? — What day is it today?
今天是星期五。 jīntiān shì xīngqī wǔ. — Today is Friday. - 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào? — What is today’s date?
今天九号。 jīntiān jiǔ hào. — Today is the ninth. - 今天多少号？ jīntiān duōshao hào? — What is today’s date?
今天二十一号。 jīntiān èrshíyī hào. — Today is the 21st. - 今天几月几号？ jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào? — What is today’s date exactly?
今天三月九号。 jīntiān sān yuè jiǔ hào. — Today is March 9th. - 昨天星期几？ zuótiān xīngqī jǐ? — What day was it yesterday?
昨天是星期二。 zuótiān shì xīngqī èr. — Yesterday was Tuesday. - 明天星期几？ míngtiān xīngqī jǐ? — What day is tomorrow?
明天是星期六。 míngtiān shì xīngqī liù. — Tomorrow is Saturday. - 你星期几有空？ nǐ xīngqī jǐ yǒu kòng? — What day are you free?
我星期四有空。 wǒ xīngqī sì yǒu kòng. — I am free on Thursday. - 我们星期几见面？ wǒmen xīngqī jǐ jiànmiàn? — What day shall we meet?
我们星期一见面吧。 wǒmen xīngqī yī jiànmiàn ba. — Let’s meet on Monday. - 你周末忙吗？ nǐ zhōumò máng ma? — Are you busy on the weekend?
我周末不忙。 wǒ zhōumò bù máng. — I am not busy on the weekend. - 今天不是星期天。 jīntiān bú shì xīngqī tiān. — Today is not Sunday.
今天是星期一。 jīntiān shì xīngqī yī. — Today is Monday. - 今天是几月几号？ jīntiān shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào? — What is today’s date?
今天是六月一号。 jīntiān shì liù yuè yī hào. — Today is June 1st.
Rule To Remember: Day Vs Date
| You Want | Chinese Pattern | Example (ZH) | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| day of the week | 星期几 xīngqī jǐ | 今天星期几？ | jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? |
| calendar date | 几号 jǐ hào | 今天几号？ | jīntiān jǐ hào? | What is today’s date? |
| full date | 几月几号 jǐ yuè jǐ hào | 今天几月几号？ | jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào? | What is today’s date exactly? |
Think of it like this: 星期 xīngqī points to the weekly cycle, and 号 hào points to the calendar number. Once that clicks, the confusion fades fast.
More Useful Word Tables
| Hanzi | Pinyin | Meaning | Example (ZH) | Example (Pinyin) | Translation (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīntiān | today | 今天我不上班。 | jīntiān wǒ bù shàngbān. | I am not working today. |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday | 昨天很冷。 | zuótiān hěn lěng. | It was cold yesterday. |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow | 明天见。 | míngtiān jiàn. | See you tomorrow. |
| 周末 | zhōumò | weekend | 周末我去公园。 | zhōumò wǒ qù gōngyuán. | I am going to the park on the weekend. |
| 有空 | yǒu kòng | to be free, available | 你今天有空吗？ | nǐ jīntiān yǒu kòng ma? | Are you free today? |
| 见面 | jiànmiàn | to meet | 我们明天见面吧。 | wǒmen míngtiān jiànmiàn ba. | Let’s meet tomorrow. |
Common Variants You Will Hear
| Standard | Variant | Meaning | Example (ZH) | Example (Pinyin) | Translation (EN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 星期一 xīngqī yī | 周一 zhōuyī | Monday | 周一我很忙。 | zhōuyī wǒ hěn máng. | I am busy on Monday. |
| 星期日 xīngqī rì | 星期天 xīngqī tiān | Sunday | 星期天他在家。 | xīngqī tiān tā zài jiā. | He is at home on Sunday. |
| 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào? | 今天多少号？ jīntiān duōshao hào? | What is today’s date? | 今天多少号？ | jīntiān duōshao hào? | What is today’s date? |
| 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? | 今天是星期几？ jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? | 今天是星期几？ | jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? |
Practice Section
Try these fast swaps. Read the Chinese out loud with the pinyin. Your brain likes repetition more than your ego does.
- Question: 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?
Answer: 今天星期二。 jīntiān xīngqī èr. - Question: 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào?
Answer: 今天十五号。 jīntiān shíwǔ hào. - Question: 明天星期几？ míngtiān xīngqī jǐ?
Answer: 明天是星期天。 míngtiān shì xīngqī tiān. - Question: 你星期几有空？ nǐ xīngqī jǐ yǒu kòng?
Answer: 我星期四有空。 wǒ xīngqī sì yǒu kòng.
Common Mistakes And Fixes
- Mistake: 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào? when you want Monday, Tuesday, or Friday.
Fix: Use 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? - Mistake: Saying 星期天 xīngqī tiān for every day.
Fix: Only use 星期天 xīngqī tiān for Sunday. - Mistake: Forgetting the time word like 今天 jīntiān or 明天 míngtiān.
Fix: Add it for clarity: 明天星期几？ míngtiān xīngqī jǐ? - Mistake: Thinking 是 shì is always required.
Fix: It is optional in many day-of-week sentences: 今天星期五。 jīntiān xīngqī wǔ. sounds natural.
Quick Reference Summary
- What day is it today? → 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?
- What is today’s date? → 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào?
- What is today’s full date? → 今天几月几号？ jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào?
- Today is Monday. → 今天星期一。 jīntiān xīngqī yī.
- Tomorrow is Friday. → 明天是星期五。 míngtiān shì xīngqī wǔ.
Final Yak Box
The best beginner sentence here is 今天星期几？ jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? Learn that one cold, then add 今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào? right after it. With just those two, you can ask for the day, the date, and sound a lot less lost.
