Date/Time 年月日

HSK 1

Time

Structure (结构 jiégòu)

Year年Month月Day日/号

Meaning (意思 yìsi)

In Chinese, dates are expressed from largest to smallest unit: year, month, then day.

Explanation (解释 jiěshì)

Chinese arranges time following a large-to-small rule: year (年), then month (月), and finally day (日/号). This is the general rule for all time references.

Notes:

日 (rì) is typically used in written language and formal documents.
号 (hào) is more common in everyday conversation.
When reading years, simply read each digit individually. For example, the year 2024 is read as 二零二四 (èr líng èr sì).

Examples (例句 lìjù)(5)

今天是二零二四年十月一号。
繁: 今天是二零二四年十月一號。Jīntiān shì èr líng èr sì nián shí yuè yī hào.
Today is October 1st, 2024.
我的生日是五月二十号。
繁: 我的生日是五月二十號。Wǒ de shēngrì shì wǔ yuè èrshí hào.
My birthday is May 20th.
他一九九零年出生。
Tā yī jiǔ jiǔ líng nián chūshēng.
He was born in 1990.
我们八月三号去旅游。
繁: 我們八月三號去旅遊。Wǒmen bā yuè sān hào qù lǚyóu.
We are going on a trip on August 3rd.
会议日期是三月十五日。
繁: 會議日期是三月十五日。Huìyì rìqī shì sān yuè shíwǔ rì.
The date of the meeting is March 15th.