课程Level 2 · 日常生活 → 课 14

Level 2 · Lesson 14

星期一,星期二
Monday, Tuesday

今天是星期四。星期天是十月五号。

The week is numbered, and a Chinese date runs from the year down to the day.

听 · Listen

对话

李明 — 安娜,今天是星期三吗?
Anna, is today Wednesday?
安娜 — 今天是星期四。
Today is Thursday.
李明 — 星期四!我下午三点上课。
Thursday! I have class at three this afternoon.
安娜 — 星期六和星期天我们不上课。
On Saturday and Sunday we have no class.
李明 — 星期天我去商店买东西。
On Sunday I'm going to the shop to buy things.
安娜 — 星期天是十月五号吗?
Is Sunday October 5th?
李明 — 是,十月五号。
Yes, October 5th.
安娜 — 好,星期天我也去!
Great — I'll go on Sunday too!

讲解 · Explanation

星期一、星期二、星期三、星期四、星期五、星期六、星期天。

The Chinese week is simply counted. 星期 means 'week', and you add the number of the day to it: Monday is day one, so 星期一; Tuesday 星期二; and so on up to 星期六 for Saturday. Only Sunday breaks the pattern — there is no 星期七. It is 星期天 in speech and 星期日 in writing. Note that the 一 of 星期一 keeps its own first tone, yī, as it does whenever it names a date.

一九九九年十月五号。今天是十月五号。

A Chinese date runs from the biggest unit to the smallest: year, then month, then day — the reverse of the English order. The year is read digit by digit, not as a whole number: 一九九九年 is yī jiǔ jiǔ jiǔ nián. Months are just a number plus 月: 一月 is January, 十月 is October, 十二月 is December. Days are a number plus 号 when you speak, plus 日 when you write: 五号 is the fifth.

今天是星期四。今天星期四。

Both of these are correct. Before a weekday, a date or a clock time, everyday speech often drops 是 altogether: 今天星期四, 明天十月六号. Keep 是 when you want to be clear or emphatic, and keep it always in a 吗 question with a date: 今天是星期三吗? This dropping happens with times and dates only — 我是学生 never loses its 是.

生词 · Vocabulary

Meaning 注 · Note
星期 week 星期一 = Monday, day one
星期天 Sunday 星期日 in writing; never 星期七
month number + 月: 一月 = January
day of the month 五号 = the 5th; 日 in writing
year read digit by digit: 一九九九年

练习 · Practice

星期一、星期二、______、星期四。 Fill in the missing weekday.
今天是星期日,也说 ______。 星期日 is the written form. What do you say aloud?
我 ______ 去北京。 'I'm going to Beijing on October 5th.'
排一排。 Arrange: 'Today is October 5th.'
星期一、星期三、星期六、星期天、号 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

今天是星期四,十月二号。明天是星期五,十月三号。

Say today's weekday and today's date aloud, then tomorrow's. Then run through the whole week once — 星期一 to 星期天 — and say what you do on each day, using the verbs you already have: 星期一我上课。星期六我买东西。星期天我不上课。 Finish with your own birthday as month plus 号.