Chinese word

星期

Pronunciation

Pinyinxīng qī

Meaning

  • nounday of the week

Example

今天是星期几？jīn tiān shì xīng qī jǐ

What day of the week is it today?

Illustration for 星期 (day of the week)

More examples

这个星期我很忙。zhè ge xīng qī wǒ hěn máng

I am very busy this week.

Core concept

A calendar track of seven recurring slots, where a slot names a day and the track names a span of time.

Common phrases

  • 星期几xīng qī jǐ

    what day of the week

  • 这个星期zhè ge xīng qī

    this week

  • 下个星期xià gè xīng qī

    next week

Similar words

礼拜lǐ bài: A colloquial term for a weekday or a week in everyday speech.
周zhōu: A short term for a weekday or a week, often used in brief written forms.

Definition in Chinese

表示一周七日中的某一日，通常与序数词连用表示星期几；也可泛指以周为单位的时间段，如“这个星期”“下星期”。biǎo shì yì zhōu qī rì zhōng de mǒu yí rì tōng cháng yǔ xù shù cí lián yòng biǎo shì xīng qī jǐ yě kě fàn zhǐ yǐ zhōu wèi dān wèi de shí jiān duàn rú zhè ge xīng qī xià xīng qī

Word origin

星期 (xīngqī, "week") joins 星 (xīng, "star") with 期 (qī, "period"), reflecting an old link between the seven-day cycle and the sun, moon, and five visible planets.

Usage tips

  • After 星期 (xīngqī, "week"), a number identifies a weekday; Sunday also appears as 星期天 (xīngqītiān, "Sunday") or 星期日 (xīngqīrì, "Sunday").

Other meanings

  • weeknoun

Related words

Word lists with this word