今天是星期一。
Today is Monday.
Dates and time in Mandarin
Mandarin dates move from larger units to smaller ones. For clock time, name the part of day, then the hour, then the minutes.
Say the date from year to day
A calendar date follows year, month, day: 年, 月, 日 or 号. The day word 号 is common in conversation. For example, 三月二号 is March 2.
For a weekday, place a number after 星期: 星期一 is Monday, 星期二 is Tuesday, and so on. Put 今天, 明天, or 昨天 before the date or weekday to say today, tomorrow, or yesterday.
Build a clock time
Use 上午 for morning and 下午 for afternoon. Then say the hour with 点. Add minutes with 分: 九点十分 is 9:10. 分钟 usually names a duration, as in 十分钟 (ten minutes).
A time phrase can come before the action: 明天下午三点见 means “See you tomorrow at 3 p.m.”
Examples
今天是三月二号。
Today is March 2.
现在是上午九点十分。
It is now 9:10 in the morning.
明天下午三点见。
See you tomorrow at 3 p.m.
Check what you remember
Put the month and day in Mandarin order for March 3.
- 三号月
- 三月三号
Which phrase means 9:10 a.m.?
- 上午九点十分
- 下午九点十分
Show answers and explanations
- 三月三号. The month comes before the day: 三月三号.
- 上午九点十分. 上午 means morning; 下午 means afternoon.