Date and Season Words in Chinese

Before we get to the date and season words, a little bit about Taiwan’s weather: spring (March–May) is a slow shift from dry to rainy, with daytime temperatures around 23°C — too cold for the beach, but perfect for hot springs and cherry blossoms in the mountains.

Summer is hot, humid, and full of afternoon showers — around 35°C with 82% humidity. Autumn cools down to about 24°C and gets windy, so it’s a better season for hiking or cycling than anything involving the ocean. Winter isn’t technically cold (around 14°C), but the humidity makes it feel much colder than the number suggests.

Marking time, day by day

Date Words in Chinese

Putting it all together

Examples

今天jīntiān天氣tiānqì真好zhēnhǎo今天jīntiān天气tiānqì真好zhēnhǎo It is nice weather today.

💡 There are three words for “week”: 週周 zhōu is the written form. 星期 xīngqíxīngqī is spoken, used in both Taiwan and China. 禮拜礼拜 lǐbài is also spoken (it also means “worship”), and mainly used in Taiwan.

週一zhōuyī休息xiūxí周一zhōuyī休息xiūxi Monday closed.

上禮拜三shàng lǐbài sān我wǒ生病shēngbìng，所以suǒyǐ沒méi去qù上班shàngbān上礼拜三shàng lǐbài sān我wǒ生病shēngbìng，所以suǒyǐ没méi去qù上班shàngbān Last Wednesday I was sick, so I did not go to work.

💡 Notice that 上禮拜三 (the time word) comes before the verb 生病 — in Chinese, time words are placed before the action, not after like in English. Read more in Chinese Sentence Structure.

The rhythm of the seasons

Season Words in Chinese

Putting it all together

Examples

我wǒ怕冷pà lěng，所以suǒyǐ我wǒ不bù喜歡xǐhuān冬天dōngtiān我wǒ怕冷pà lěng，所以suǒyǐ我wǒ不bù喜欢xǐhuan冬天dōngtiān I can’t stand the cold, so I don’t like winter.

秋天qiūtiān的de時候shíhòu旅遊lǚyóu最zuì舒服shūfú秋天qiūtiān的de时候shíhou旅游lǚyóu最zuì舒服shūfu Autumn is the most comfortable time to travel.

Test yourself

Vocabulary Quiz