天
tiān/tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵/
In Chinese, the phrase for "days" is 天 (tiān).
天 is used to refer to units of time equal to twenty-four hours. When you want to ask "how many days", you can use 几天 (jǐ tiān) if you expect a small number or 多少天 (duō shǎo tiān) for larger or unknown quantities.
What does it mean word for word?
The character 天 literally means "sky" or "heaven", which serves as the conceptual root for the meaning of "day" in this context.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word 天 does not change its form to indicate plurality. The number of days is indicated by the number preceding it. 天 acts as its own measure word for counting days.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is tiān.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to use the measure word 个 (gè) with 天, but you should use 天 directly when counting days.
Did you know?
- Some scholars once linked the ancient pronunciation of 天 to the name of the deity 'Tengri' used by early Turkic peoples.
- In traditional Chinese culture, 天 refers to a cosmic order or a supreme deity, meaning the word for 'day' is spiritually linked to the highest power in the universe.
- The character 天 is formed by adding a line to the top of the character 大 (big), visually symbolizing that the sky is the largest thing above a person.
Examples in context
- 雨下了三天。It was rainy for three days.This sentence shows how to express a duration of three days using 天.Tatoeba #2807844 by cienias, translation #2566602 by AsliAbbasi
- 一周有几天？How many days are there in a week?This sentence uses 天 to ask about the number of days in a week.Tatoeba #7771958 by jiangche, translation #535810 by autuno
- 只剩下两天了。There's only two days left.This sentence demonstrates using 天 to indicate how many days are left.Tatoeba #939892 by GlossaMatik, translation #939889 by FeuDRenais2
- 今天是星期一。我们两点开会。Today is Monday. We are having a meeting at 2 o'clock.
- 星期六我要去看望我的祖父母。I'm visiting my grandparents on Saturday.
- 星期日你有什么计划吗？Do you have any plans for Sunday?
- 172 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Xiaowen are talking about a trip.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你去北京几天？Nǐ qù Běijīng jǐ tiān?How many days are you going to Beijing for?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我打算去五天。Wǒ dǎsuàn qù wǔ tiān.I plan to go for five days.
- 志强 Zhiqiang五天时间太短了。Wǔ tiān shíjiān tài duǎn le.Five days is too short.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen没关系，时间刚好。Méiguānxì, shíjiān gānghǎo.That's okay, the timing is just right.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 天, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 天, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
