Chinese grammar - Talking About Dates in Chinese

Talking About Dates in Chinese

When talking about dates in Chinese, the basic structure is:

• [year number] + 年 (nián) + [month number] + 月 (yuè) + [day number] + 日 (rì) or 号 (hào)

— 号 (hào) is used in spoken Chinese

When asking for a day of the month we use 几号？(jǐ hào) or 几日？(jǐ rì).

Or if asking about what month in addition to the day of the month, then use 几月几号？(jǐ yuè jǐ hào).

And the word for 'date' is 日子 (rìzi).

Examples:
	今天是几号？ jīntiān shì jǐhào? What is the date today?
	今天是六月一号。 jīntiān shì liù yuè yī hào. Today is June 1st.
	下个星期三是5月15日。 xiàge xīngqīsān shì wǔ yuè shíwǔ rì. Next Wednesday is May 15th.
	上个星期四是几月几号？ shàngge xīngqīsì shì jǐyuèjǐhào? What date was last Thursday?
	你的生日是几号？ nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐhào? What date is your birthday?
	我的生日是5月20号。 wǒ de shēngrì shì wǔ yuè èrshí hào. My birthday is May 20th.
	1985年5月20日是我的生日。 yìjiǔbāwǔ nián wǔ yuè èrshí rì shì wǒ de shēngrì. May 20th, 1985 is my birthday.
	你的纪念日是什么时候？ nǐ de jìniànrì shì shénme shíhou? When is your anniversary? 纪念日 (jìniànrì) means 'anniversary'
	我们的纪念日是8月28号。 wǒmen de jìniànrì shì bā yuè èrshíbā hào. Our anniversary is August 28th.
	1949年10月1日是中华人民共和国成立的日子。 yìjiǔsìjiǔ nián shí yuè yī rì shì zhōnghuá rénmín gònghéguó chénglì de rìzi. October 1st, 1949 was the founding of the People's Republic of China (date). 中华人民共和国 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó) means 'People's Republic of China' 成立 (chénglì) means 'to establish' or 'to set up' 日子 (rìzi) means 'day' or 'date'
	毛泽东在1976年9月9日去世了。 máozédōng zài yìjiǔqīliù nián jiǔ yuè jiǔ rì qùshì le. Mao Zedong passed away on September 9th, 1976. 毛泽东 (Máo Zédōng) means 'Mao Zedong' 去世 (qùshì) means 'to pass away'
	2008年8月8日是北京奥运会开幕的日子。 èrlínglíngbā nián bā yuè bā rì shì běijīng àoyùnhuì kāimù de rìzi. August 8th, 2008 was the opening of the Beijing Olympics (date). 奥运会 (Àoyùnhuì) means 'Olympic Games' 开幕 (kāimù) means 'to open' (an event or ceremony), 'to inaugurate,' or 'opening ceremony'
	1997年7月1日是香港回归的日子。 yìjiǔjiǔqī nián qī yuè yī rì shì xiānggǎng huíguī de rìzi. July 1st, 1997 was the return of Hong Kong (date). 回归 (huíguī) means 'to return' or 'to revert'
	中国在2001年12月11日加入了WTO。 zhōngguó zài èrlínglíngyī nián shí'èr yuè shíyī rì jiārù le WTO. China joined the WTO on December 11th, 2001. 加入 (jiārù) means 'to join' or 'to become a member of'
	1911年10月10日是武昌起义的日子。 yījiǔyīyī nián shí yuè shí rì shì wǔchāng qǐyì de rìzi. October 10th, 1911 was the day of the Wuchang Uprising, leading to the Xinhai Revolution (date). 起义 (qǐyì) means 'uprising rebellion'