Days of the Week in Chinese

Days use “星期 + number”, with Monday as day one. Sunday can be “星期天” or “星期日”.

Ask yourself “今天星期几？” every day and answer in a full sentence.

“星期几” asks day of the week, not the date. For the date, ask “几月几号”.

Mandarin weekdays are regular: 星期一, 星期二, 星期三, through 星期六. Sunday can be “星期天” or “星期日”. Note that Monday is day one of the Chinese week, and calendars in China usually start on Monday.

If you know numbers one to six, weekdays are easy. The key is that “星期几” asks day of the week, not calendar date.

The same Monday can be “星期一”, “周一”, or “礼拜一” — identical meanings. “周” is common in writing and quick speech (周末 weekend, 周五见 see you Friday); “礼拜” is the most colloquial, especially in southern China and Taiwan.

Stick to the “星期” set when speaking, but train your ear on all three — real conversations mix them freely.

Add a direction word to talk about other weeks: “上个星期” (last week), “这个星期” (this week), “下个星期” (next week). For scheduling, “下个星期三可以吗？” (Is next Wednesday okay?) is the workhorse.

“上” points to the past and “下” to the future — the same logic as 上个月/下个月 (last/next month), so it transfers directly.

A: 我们什么时候见面？ B: 下个星期三可以吗？ A: 星期三我有点忙，星期五有空. B: 好，那周五见！ A: 周五见！

Listen once, then repeat line by line. Swap “星期五” for the day you are actually free and “见面” for “吃饭” or “打球”, and you have a real scheduling exchange.

Monday to Sunday is only the base. In real conversation, you more often say “这周五有空吗？”, “下周一见”, or “周末你做什么？”

PandaKiko puts weekdays into three sentence types: making plans, changing plans, and asking about plans. Then you learn how to arrange real life, not only seven words.

Minute one is only for the core lines: “今天星期几？”、“今天星期一。”、“明天星期二。”. Do not add new vocabulary yet; first make sure you can read the characters aloud and turn the English meaning back into Mandarin.

Minutes two to four change one real variable: place, quantity, time, person, or preference. In the final minute, close the page and say the idea with your own details. PandaKiko treats this guide as learned only when you can turn “今天星期几？” into your own sentence.