Days of the Week —星期 xīngqī, 礼拜 lǐbài, 周 zhōu
Three words for “week,” one simple pattern — and much easier to remember than Monday through Sunday. 😎
In Mandarin Chinese, the days of the week can be expressed in three different ways: 星期 xīngqī, 礼拜 lǐbài, and 周 zhōu. All three systems follow the same simple pattern and are easy to remember!
1星期 xīngqī
星期 xīngqī literally means “star period” and originally referred to the seven-day planetary cycle in ancient times. It was later adopted to mean “week” in modern Chinese. It is commonly used in spoken language in both China and Taiwan.
2礼拜 lǐbài
The term 礼拜 lǐbài has historical origins dating back to the 19th century, when Western missionaries and traders arrived in China. Originally meaning “worship,” it referred to the Christian or Islamic services these visitors held regularly. It later came to mean the seven-day cycle itself, as locals noticed that Westerners worshipped every seven days.
This was significant because China had previously followed a 10-day cycle known as 旬 xún before adopting the Western-style week. Today, 礼拜 lǐbài is more common in spoken language in Taiwan than in China.
3周 zhōu
周 zhōu is another common way to say “week” in Chinese. The character means “cycle” or “circulation,” and is used to mark a period of seven days. The Traditional form 週 zhōu was borrowed from the Japanese kanji 週 (shū, “cycle”) at the beginning of the 20th century.
Unlike 礼拜 lǐbài, 周 zhōu carries no religious connotations. As a result, it is the preferred term in official and formal contexts, including calendars, schedules, and official documents.
4Days of the Week
In Mandarin Chinese, the days of the week are formed with the word for “week” followed by a number — Sunday is the one exception.
Instead of “week seven,” Sunday is called “week day.” Both 日 rì and 天 tiān mean “day” — 天 tiān sounds more casual than 日 rì. With 周 zhōu, the standard form is 周日 zhōurì.
5Examples
Put 上 shàng (“last”), 下 xià (“next”), or 每 měi (“every”) in front of the day to talk about last week, next week, or every week.
6Common Mistakes
7Which Word Should I Use?
| Word | Style | Where You’ll Hear It |
|---|---|---|
| 星期 xīngqī | Spoken and written | Widely used everywhere |
| 礼拜 lǐbài | Spoken, casual | Very common in Taiwan |
| 周 zhōu | Written, formal | Calendars, schedules, official documents |
8Practice Quiz
Which day of the week is it? Pick the right answer.
星期五星期五
Question 1 of 8
禮拜三礼拜三
Question 2 of 8
週日周日
Question 3 of 8
星期二星期二
Question 4 of 8
禮拜天礼拜天
Question 5 of 8
週一周一
Question 6 of 8
禮拜四礼拜四
Question 7 of 8
星期六星期六
Question 8 of 8
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