Dates in Chinese —年 nián, 月 yuè, 日 rì / 号 hào
Chinese dates run from big to small — year, month, then day. Once you know the order, every date is just numbers plus three little words.
In Mandarin Chinese, dates are expressed in the order of year, month, and day, from big to small. This is the opposite order to how dates are expressed in English.
1Year — 年 nián
In Mandarin Chinese, years are typically read as a series of individual digits. However, when referring to a period of years (a length of time), we read out the whole number.
Calendar years — read digit by digit
A period of years — read as a whole number
Taiwan uses our own year system called 民国 mínguó, which is based on the founding of the Republic of China in 1912. The ROC was initially based in mainland China, but in 1949, following the Chinese Civil War, the government retreated to Taiwan, where it remains to this day.
In the 民国 mínguó calendar, the first year is 1912, the year the Republic of China was founded. So, for example, the year 2023 in the Gregorian calendar is 民国 mínguó 112 — just subtract 1911.
2Month — 月 yuè
In Mandarin Chinese, months are simply named after the numbers one to twelve, followed by the character 月 yuè to show that it is a month.
Did you know that there is also a traditional calendar called 农历 nónglì that’s based on the cycles of the moon? It’s different from the Gregorian calendar that most of us use. 🌙
In the 农历 nónglì calendar, there are 12 or 13 lunar months in a year, and each month starts on the day of a new moon. Every lunar month has either 29 or 30 days, and a leap month is added every two or three years to keep it in line with the solar year.
Although most daily activities follow the Gregorian calendar, the 农历 nónglì calendar is still widely used for traditional festivals and holidays. The most famous one is Chinese New Year, which falls on the first day of the first lunar month. 🎉
3Day — 日 rì / 号 hào
Days of the month are expressed by saying the number first, followed by 日 rì in written language or 号 hào in spoken language.
4Putting It Together
Dates are arranged from the largest unit to the smallest: year, month, day.
5Common Mistakes
Don’t read a calendar year in two-digit chunks the way English does.
6Practice
Say each date in Chinese, then tap the card to check your answer.
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