Week of Days in Chinese

Grammar Point:
In Mandarin Chinese, week of days can be expressed in three different ways, which is 星期 xīngqíqī, 禮拜礼拜 lǐbài, and 週周 zhōu. All three systems follow a simple pattern and are easy to remember! (In comparison to English😎)

星期 xīngqí/xīngqī

星期 xīngqíqī literally means “star period” and originally referred to the seven-day planetary cycle in ancient times. It was later adopted to represent “week” in modern Chinese. It is commonly used in both China and Taiwan in spoken language.

禮拜/礼拜 lǐbài

The term 禮拜礼拜 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 rituals performed regularly by these individuals. It later extended to represent the seven-day cycle as local Chinese noticed that Westerners worshipped every seven days. This was significant because China previously followed a 10-day cycle known as 旬 xún before adopting the Western-style week. It is more commonly used in spoken language in Taiwan compared to China.

週/周 zhōu

The term 週周 zhōu is another commonly used way to express “week” in Chinese. It is derived from the Chinese character meaning “cycle” or “circulation” and is used to denote a period of seven days. (Another variation, 週周 zhōu, was derived from the Japanese Kanji “週 (しゅう)”, meaning “cycle,” at the beginning of the 20th century.)

Unlike 禮拜礼拜 lǐbài, 週周 zhōu does not carry the historical religious connotations and is not associated with Western imperialism. As a result, it is the preferred term in many official and formal contexts, including calendars, schedules, and official documents.

• 星期xīngqí星期xīngqī：Spoken, widely use

• 禮拜lǐbài礼拜lǐbài：Spoken, less formal, very common in Taiwan

• 週zhōu周zhōu：Written, formal

Structure

In Mandarin Chinese, days of the week are formed by the word “week” followed by a number: (Sunday is an exception)

Sunday is the exception when it comes to the naming of days in Chinese. Instead of using “week seven,” it is referred to as “week day”. Both 日 rì and 天 tiān mean “day” in Chinese. 天 tiān sounds more casual in comparison to 日 rì.

星期天xīngqítiān你nǐ要yào去qù爬山páshān嗎ma？ 星期天xīngqītiān你nǐ要yào去qù爬山páshān吗ma？
Are you going hiking on Sunday?

這zhè家jiā咖啡店kāfēidiàn週一zhōuyī休息xiūxí这zhè家jiā咖啡店kāfēidiàn周一zhōuyī休息xiūxi
This coffee shop is closed on Mondays.

禮拜六lǐbàiliù你nǐ做zuò什麼shénme？ 礼拜六lǐbàiliù你nǐ做zuò什么shénme？
What are you doing on Saturday?

我wǒ上shàng星期一xīngqíyī沒méi上shàng中文zhōngwén課kè我wǒ上shàng星期一xīngqīyī没méi上shàng中文zhōngwén课kè
I didn’t attend Chinese class last Monday.

他tā下xià禮拜日lǐbàirì沒méi時間shíjiān他tā下xià礼拜日lǐbàirì没méi时间shíjiān
He doesn’t have time next Sunday.

每měi週三zhōusān咖啡kāfēi買mǎi一yī送sòng一yī每měi周三zhōusān咖啡kāfēi买mǎi一yī送sòng一yī
Buy one coffee, get one free every Wednesday.

• Dates in Chinese (HSK 1)

• Time in Chinese (HSK 1)