Telling Time and Dates in Mandarin
Time expressions in Mandarin are refreshingly logical. Months are just numbered — January is month one — and days of the week are numbered too, with Sunday as the odd one out. If you can count to twelve, you can already say most dates.
You will need this for train times, reservation confirmations, tour pickups and the small print on a hotel door about when breakfast ends.
Asking and telling the time
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 现在几点？ | Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? | What time is it now? 几点 jǐ diǎn is the phrase for asking the hour. | |
| 三点 | sān diǎn | three o'clock Put the number before 点 diǎn. 五点 wǔ diǎn is five o'clock. | |
| 三点半 | sān diǎn bàn | half past three 半 bàn means half. For anything else, the minutes come after: 三点二十 sān diǎn èrshí. | |
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | morning (AM) Covers roughly 8am to noon. Trains and flights use this word a lot. | |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon (PM) Noon to about 6pm. | |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening / night Used for anything after dark, including a 7pm dinner reservation. | |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | early morning Roughly dawn to 9am, when breakfast stalls are busiest. |
Days of the week
Monday is day one. Sunday breaks the pattern.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 星期一 | xīngqīyī | Monday | |
| 星期二 | xīngqī'èr | Tuesday | |
| 星期三 | xīngqīsān | Wednesday | |
| 星期五 | xīngqīwǔ | Friday | |
| 星期六 | xīngqīliù | Saturday | |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday 天 tiān means day here. You will also see 星期日 xīngqīrì on official tickets. |
Months and dates
Months are numbered from one, so 十一月 is literally month eleven.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一月 | yī yuè | January | |
| 四月 | sì yuè | April | |
| 七月 | qī yuè | July | |
| 十二月 | shí'èr yuè | December | |
| 五月一号 | wǔ yuè yī hào | May 1st 号 hào is the spoken word for a date. 五月一日 is the written form. | |
| 二零二六年 | èr líng èr liù nián | the year 2026 Years are read digit by digit: 二零二六, not two thousand. |
Today, tomorrow and the day after
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīntiān | today | |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow | |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrow 后天 hòutiān is a single word, not 'after tomorrow'. | |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday | |
| 几点开门？ | Jǐ diǎn kāimén? | What time do you open? Swap in 关门 guānmén to ask what time they close. |