Chinese word

周

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhōu

Meaning

  • nounweek

Example

他每周去游泳。tā měi zhōu qù yóu yǒng

He goes swimming every week.

Illustration for 周 (week)

More examples

这个任务要两周完成。zhè ge rèn wù yào liǎng zhōu wán chéng

This task will be completed in two weeks.

Core concept

A complete seven-day turn of the calendar, used as one unit for single dates or repeating schedules.

Common phrases

  • 下周xià zhōu

    next week

  • 一周yì zhōu

    one week

  • 每周一次měi zhōu yí cì

    once a week

Similar words

星期xīng qī: An everyday term for a complete seven-day period.
礼拜lǐ bài: A casual term for a complete seven-day period.

Definition in Chinese

表示以七天为单位的一段时间，可用于说某一周或表示“每周”。biǎo shì yǐ qī tiān wèi dān wèi de yí duàn shí jiān kě yòng yú shuō mǒu yì zhōu huò biǎo shì měi zhōu

Word origin

周 (zhōu, "cycle") originally expressed completeness and going around, and that idea of a full recurring turn extended to the modern seven-day time unit.

Usage tips

  • English uses a separate word for "every," while Chinese can place the matching frequency word directly before this time noun, making recurring routines easy to recognize.

Word lists with this word