Chinese word

今天

Pronunciation

Pinyinjīn tiān

Meaning

  • nountoday

Example

今天 是 我的 生日。jīn tiān shì wǒ de shēng rì

Today is my birthday.

Illustration for 今天 (today)

More examples

今天 下午我要去超市。jīn tiān xià wǔ wǒ yào qù chāo shì

This afternoon I am going to the supermarket.

Core concept

The current day treated as one complete time span.

Common phrases

  • 今天 是jīn tiān shì

    today is

  • 今天 下午jīn tiān xià wǔ

    this afternoon

  • 今天 上午jīn tiān shàng wǔ

    this morning

  • 今天 晚上jīn tiān wǎn shàng

    tonight

Similar words

昨天zuó tiān: The full calendar day that came just before the present day.
明天míng tiān: The full calendar day that comes just after the present day.
现在xiàn zài: The present time or a particular moment in the present.

Definition in Chinese

指当前这一天，也可用作时间副词表示在今天之内发生或成立的事。zhǐ dāng qián zhè yì tiān yě kě yòng zuò shí jiān fù cí biǎo shì zài jīn tiān zhī nèi fā shēng huò chéng lì de shì

Word origin

今 (jīn, "now") + 天 (tiān, "day") forms a compound for the day in the present time.

Usage tips

  • 今天 (jīntiān, "today") often comes near the start of a Chinese sentence to set the time before the main event or fact.

Opposites

Word lists with this word