Days of the Week in Chinese: How to Say Monday, Tuesday and Count Weeks (A Parent & Teacher Guide)

Is your child learning Mandarin? Have they just asked “how do you say Monday in Chinese?” You’ve picked one of the easiest topics to teach.

In English, the seven weekdays are seven different words. Children have to memorise each one. The days of the week in Chinese are far simpler. They follow one logical pattern. If your child can count to seven, they are 90% of the way there.

This guide covers everything overseas families and teachers need to know:

• The Chinese word for “week” — and the three versions you’ll hear
• How to say Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Chinese
• How to count weeks (one week, two weeks, this week, next week)
• The single exception that catches every learner first time
• Mini-lesson plans, games, and printables for home or class
• Common mistakes — and how to fix them

By the end, you’ll have everything you need. You can teach this whole topic in one or two short sessions.

The Chinese Word for “Week”: 星期, 周, and 礼拜

Before we get to the days, here’s something useful to know. Chinese has three common words for “week”. They all mean the same thing. But each one has its own flavour and usage context.

This matters for overseas children. They’ll often hear a relative use a different word from the one they learned in class. So it’s worth covering up front.

For children just starting out, start with 星期 (xīngqī). It’s the safest, most universally understood form. Most textbooks, flashcards and apps use it.

Once they’re comfortable, introduce 周 and 礼拜 as “the same thing said differently”. Children naturally accept this kind of variation.

💡 Teaching tip: Don’t introduce all three words in one lesson. Teach 星期 thoroughly first. Bring in 周 a few weeks later, when your child meets it in books or on calendars. Save 礼拜 for the day they meet a relative who uses it.

How to Say Monday to Sunday in Chinese

Now for the magic. Here’s the pattern that runs through almost every day of the week:

星期 (xīngqī) + a number (1 to 6) = the day of the week

That’s it. The Chinese week starts on Monday — not Sunday. So:

• Monday is “weekday one”
• Tuesday is “weekday two”
• Wednesday is “weekday three”
• And so on, all the way to Saturday — “weekday six”

Does your child already know the Chinese numbers from one to seven? Then they have already done most of the work. A quick refresher:

一 (yī),
二 (èr),
三 (sān),
四 (sì),
五 (wǔ),
六 (liù),
七 (qī).

Here is the full list:

The One Exception: Sunday

Sunday is the only day that breaks the pattern. Instead of 星期七 (xīngqī qī — “week seven”), Sunday uses one of two forms:

• 星期日 (xīngqī rì) — slightly more formal. Used more in writing.
• 星期天 (xīngqī tiān) — slightly more casual. Common in speech.

Both are correct. Both are used widely. Children can pick whichever feels easier to remember.

Most teachers introduce 星期天 first. The tiān sound is friendlier for young learners than the falling fourth tone of rì.

⚠️ A common mistake: Saying 星期七 for Sunday. It’s a logical guess. But it’s never used in Chinese. Catching this early saves a lot of correction later.

The Same Pattern with 周 and 礼拜

Once your child has 星期 down, the same pattern works with 周 or 礼拜:

This is genuinely useful for overseas children. Their grandparents may say 礼拜五见(See you on Friday). Meanwhile their teacher writes 星期五 on the whiteboard. It’s the same Friday — just dressed differently.

How to Count Weeks in Chinese

Once weekdays are clear, counting weeks is the next natural step. Children often need this in real life. They’ll want to talk about how long a holiday is. Or when a birthday is coming up. Or how long they’ve been away from school.

In English, we say one week, two weeks, three weeks. In Chinese, you need a measure word. There are two clean ways to do it.

Option 1: 一个星期 (with the measure word 个)

Treat 星期 (or 礼拜) as a noun. Then put the measure word 个 (gè) in front:

• 一个星期 (yí gè xīngqī) — one week
• 两个星期 (liǎng gè xīngqī) — two weeks
• 三个星期 (sān gè xīngqī) — three weeks

✏️ Note for kids: Chinese uses 两 (liǎng), not 二 (èr), to say “two of something”. So it’s 两个星期, not 二个星期.

Option 2: 一周 (with 周 as its own measure word)

The word 周 already works as a measure word on its own. So it doesn’t need 个:

• 一周 (yì zhōu) — one week
• 两周 (liǎng zhōu) — two weeks
• 三周 (sān zhōu) — three weeks

You will never hear 一个周 in correct Chinese.

Saying “the first week, the second week…”

Want to talk about ordinal weeks (first, second, third)? Add the prefix 第 (dì) before the number:

• 第一周 (dì yī zhōu) — the first week
• 第二个星期 (dì èr gè xīngqī) — the second week
• 第三周 (dì sān zhōu) — the third week

This week, last week, next week

These three phrases come up most often. Your child will use them all the time. Worth memorising as a set:

These three phrases unlock real-life conversations very quickly. 下个星期我去奶奶家 (Next week I’m going to grandma’s house) is exactly the kind of sentence a child can use right after this lesson.

Useful Sentences for Kids to Practise

Vocabulary lists fade. Sentences stick. Once your child has the weekday names, give them these simple sentence frames:

• 今天星期几？(Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?) — What day is today?
• 今天星期三。(Jīntiān xīngqī sān.) — Today is Wednesday.
• 明天星期四。(Míngtiān xīngqī sì.) — Tomorrow is Thursday.
• 昨天星期二。(Zuótiān xīngqī èr.) — Yesterday was Tuesday.
• 星期六我们去公园。(Xīngqī liù wǒmen qù gōngyuán.) — On Saturday we go to the park.
• 我星期天不上学。(Wǒ xīngqī tiān bú shàngxué.) — I don’t go to school on Sunday.

💡 Important grammar point: In Chinese, you do not say 在 (zài, “on”) before a day. 在星期一 is incorrect. Just say the day directly: 星期一我去看奶奶 (On Monday I’m going to see grandma).

Common Mistakes to Watch Out For

When teaching the days of the week in Chinese, these four mistakes come up again and again:

1. Saying 星期七 for Sunday. It’s a logical guess. But it’s never used. Always 星期日 or 星期天.
2. Mixing up 二 (èr) and 两 (liǎng) when counting weeks. Use 两 for two of something. So 两个星期, not 二个星期.
3. Adding 个 to 周. 一个周 is wrong. Just say 一周. The word 周 already works as a measure word.
4. Adding 在 (zài, “on”) before days. 在星期一 is incorrect. The day stands alone in time expressions.

A quick weekly check on these four points keeps the foundation clean.

A 15-Minute Mini-Lesson Plan: Teaching Weekdays at Home

Looking for a structured way to introduce this topic? Here is a 15-minute mini-lesson. It works well with overseas children aged 6–10:

Minutes 1–3: Numbers warm-up. Quickly review numbers 1 to 7 in Chinese. Try a flashcard run-through. Or count fingers together. Get the numbers active in their mouth before adding anything new.

Minutes 4–7: Introduce the pattern. Teach 星期 + number. Walk through Monday to Saturday on a chart. Pause at Sunday. Explain the exception clearly: 星期日 or 星期天, never 星期七.

Minutes 8–11: Question and answer. Ask 今天星期几？(What day is today?) and have them answer. Then 明天星期几？(What day is tomorrow?). Then 昨天星期几？(What day was yesterday?). Real time references make the words stick.

Minutes 12–14: Real-life sentences. Have your child tell you what they do on different days. 星期一我上学。星期六我打篮球。星期天我去爷爷家。 (On Monday I go to school. On Saturday I play basketball. On Sunday I go to grandpa’s house.)

Minute 15: Review and praise. Recap the seven days quickly. End on a high note. The next day, repeat the question 今天星期几？at breakfast. You’ll have a habit forming already.

This same structure works for a full lesson. You can extend it with classroom games, worksheets, and reading practice. Are you teaching a 45–60 minute weekly class? Our Lesson Plans collection includes fully structured units. They cover foundational topics like weekdays, numbers, and time. Each unit slots directly into a weekly teaching rhythm.

Three Easy Games to Practise the Days of the Week in Chinese

Vocabulary embeds fastest when it’s used playfully. Here are three games that work well for children learning weekdays in Mandarin. All of them need zero preparation:

1. “Tomorrow is…?” Chain Game. Say 今天星期一, and have your child say 明天星期二. Then they say 今天星期二, and you say 明天星期三. Speed it up. Add 昨天 (yesterday). It’s quick, repetitive, and locks in the sequence.
2. Weekly Timetable in Chinese. Make a simple seven-column chart. Have your child fill in what they do each day — in Chinese. 星期一 — 上学。星期六 — 游泳。 This connects vocabulary to their actual life. That’s the strongest form of memory.
3. Day Detective. Pick a day name in Chinese. Then have your child guess what activity it might be. 星期五我喜欢…? (On Friday I like…?) — they fill in the blank in Chinese. It introduces sentence structure naturally. No grammar drill required.

For more vocabulary games and activity ideas, see our guide to fun ways to teach Chinese vocabulary to kids.

Why Numbers Unlock Weekdays, Months, Dates and Time

If you take one thing away from this article, take this: Chinese numbers are a multiplier.

The same number system that gives you the days of the week also unlocks:

• Months of the year: 一月 (January, “month one”), 二月 (February, “month two”), all the way to 十二月 (December, “month twelve”).
• Dates: 三月十五号 (March 15th — “month three, day fifteen”).
• Time: 三点 (3 o’clock), 七点半 (half past seven).
• Counting almost anything: ages, prices, quantities.

Once your child masters numbers 1–10 in Chinese, an entire layer of everyday vocabulary opens up. This is one of the most efficient learning shortcuts in early Mandarin. It’s also the reason every well-designed beginner curriculum spends serious time on numbers first.

For a full guide to teaching numbers, see our companion article: Why Learning Chinese Numbers Is Important. Want a printable reference covering numbers, weekdays, months, dates and time all in one place? The Chinese Numbers Booklet is designed exactly for this.

You may also want to read:

• 📅 How to Say Year, Month and Date in Mandarin Chinese/a> — the natural next step after weekdays
• 🕐 How to Tell Time in Chinese — using the same number foundation
• 🔢 Numbers 1–10 in Chinese Practice Workbook — for tracing, counting and writing practice

Printable Resources for Teaching Days of the Week in Chinese

Would you like ready-made materials for this topic? The Chinese4kids shop has several printables designed specifically for overseas children:

• 🖼️ 9 Chinese Learning Posters for Homeschool and Classroom — includes weekdays, months, time, numbers, colours, shapes and seasons. Available with or without pinyin, in three sizes. A child who sees the days of the week on the wall every morning during breakfast will absorb them long before any formal lesson.
• 🃏 Months & Weekdays Montessori 3-Part Chinese Flashcards — designed for matching games and self-paced practice.
• 📘 Chinese Numbers Booklet — a single reference covering numbers, weekdays, months, dates and time. Particularly useful as a folder reference your child can return to.
• 🖥️ Chinese Numbers 1–100 Count and Trace Flashcards — for solidifying the underlying number knowledge that all of this rests on.

Are you a Chinese teacher or home-classroom parent? Looking for a complete library of teaching materials? Our Chinese4kids Membership gives instant access to lesson plans, worksheets, flashcards, and progressive units. No need to design materials from scratch.

What Comes Next After Learning Weekdays

The days of the week are usually one of the first “real-world” topics children master. Learning them well opens a clear path forward. Once your child can confidently say what day it is, the natural next steps are:

1. Months and dates in Chinese — same number-based pattern. Easy continuation. (Read the guide →)
2. Telling time in Chinese — uses the same numbers, plus a couple of new words. (Read the guide →)
3. Daily routine vocabulary — pairs perfectly with weekdays. 星期一我七点起床 (On Monday I get up at 7).
4. Building your child’s first 300 characters — the threshold where reading becomes possible.

That last point is where many overseas families hit their next big question. How do I take my child from knowing weekday names to actually reading Chinese?

The honest answer is this: you need a structured, vocabulary-by-vocabulary plan. Random flashcards rarely add up to the foundation a child needs for real reading. For children aged 6–10, Vocabulary Made Easyis the structured 12-week course we built for exactly this purpose. It takes children systematically through the 300 most-used Chinese words. The vocabulary is aligned with HSK Levels 1–2. The sequence supports the move from word recognition into beginner reading.

What if your bigger challenge is different? Maybe you want to use Chinese throughout the day at home — what day is it today? we go to grandma’s on Saturday — but you don’t feel confident enough. Speak Chinese with Kids gives parents 30 ready-to-use sentences for each daily scene. Each phrase comes with audio. You don’t need to invent the language yourself.

It’s designed for overseas parents whose own Mandarin may be rusty. The course gives you a practical toolkit. Use it at breakfast, in the car, and at bedtime. All the natural weekday references that come up in family life are included.

Final Thoughts

Of all the topics overseas children meet in early Chinese learning, days of the week is one of the most rewarding to teach. The pattern is logical. The payoff is fast. Within a single short lesson, a child can have a useful, real-world piece of language. They’ll go on to use it almost every day of their Mandarin journey.

Teach 星期. Count to seven. Remember Sunday is the exception. That’s it — you’ve given your child a piece of Chinese they will own for life.

If you found this guide helpful, you might also enjoy:

• 📖 Why Learning Chinese Numbers Is Important
• 📖< How to Say Year, Month and Date in Mandarin Chinese
• 📖 How to Tell Time in Chinese
• 📖 How to Turn Your Home Into a Chinese Immersion Environment

Want a structured, week-by-week path for your child’s vocabulary growth? Vocabulary Made Easy takes children aged 6–10 from zero to 300 characters in 12 weeks. That’s the exact threshold where Chinese reading becomes possible.

Or, is your goal to use Chinese in daily life at home? Speak Chinese with Kids gives parents the everyday phrases to make Chinese a natural part of family life — including weekday and routine talk.

–updated in May 2026

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