How to Say "Saturday" in Chinese

星期六

xīngqīliù

Saturday in Chinese is 星期六 (xīngqīliù). Wiktionary also lists 禮拜六 / 礼拜六 (lǐbàiliù) and 週六 / 周六 (zhōuliù).

Meaning: day of the week (noun)

Ways to say it

星期六 is the standard term, while 礼拜六 is a more colloquial spoken version. 週六 (or 周六) is another way to express the day.

星期六 is the most widely used formal term in Mandarin Chinese. 礼拜六 is a more informal, spoken way to say Saturday.

In Chinese, you do not need a preposition like 'on' before the day of the week. You can place the time phrase directly before or after the subject.

xīngqīliù

While Saturday is the sixth day, Sunday is not called 'Day Seven'. Instead, it is called 星期日 or 星期天, using words for 'sun' or 'sky'.
The word 星期 (xīngqī), which precedes 'Saturday' in the standard form, literally translates to 'star period' or 'week of stars'.
While 'Saturday' is a specific day, the word 礼拜 (lǐbài) used in the colloquial form literally means 'to worship' or 'to attend a service'.

昨天星期六。
Yesterday was Saturday.
This sentence is useful for expressing that yesterday was 星期六.
Tatoeba #6486900 by xjjAstrus, translation #5579558 by garynw
星期六你們上體育課。
On Saturday you do physical education.
This sentence is useful for describing a scheduled activity occurring on 星期六.
Tatoeba #13799570 by LeviHighway, translation #11316413 by danielestrigi
爲什麽你星期六來不了？
Why couldn't you come on Saturday?
This sentence is useful for asking about someone's inability to arrive on 星期六.
Tatoeba #4467881 by yuiyu, translation #1192201 by Eldad
我周六有空
I am free on Saturday.
会议将在星期六举行
The meeting will take place on Saturday.
我们下周六一起去旅行吧
Let's travel together next Saturday.
下周六是我的生日
My birthday is next Saturday.
17 more sentences on Tatoeba

A man and a woman are discussing their weekend plans.

雨婷 Yuting

你星期六有空嗎？
Nǐ xīngqīliù yǒu kòng ma?
Are you free this Saturday?
志强 Zhiqiang

星期六我沒有事。
Xīngqīliù wǒ méiyǒu shì.
I have nothing going on this Saturday.
雨婷 Yuting

那我們星期六去爬山吧。
Nà wǒmen xīngqīliù qù páshān ba.
Then let's go hiking this Saturday.
志强 Zhiqiang

好啊，沒問題。
Hǎo a, méi wèntí.
Okay, no problem.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏