xīngqīliù
standard, pinyin
Saturday in Chinese is xīngqīliù in pinyin, written 星期六. The shorter zhōuliù, written 周六, means the same.
Meaning: sixth day of the week (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Note |
|---|---|
| xīngqīliù | standard, pinyin |
| zhōuliù | common, pinyin |
What does it mean word for word?
xīngqī means "week" and liù is "six". Days of the week are numbered, so xīngqīyī is Monday and xīngqīwǔ is Friday.
Which one should you use?
Sunday is the exception and is xīngqīrì or xīngqītiān. In zhōuliù, zhōu also means "week", and the shorter form is common in speech and in schedules.
Did you know?
- The ordinal system xīngqī plus a number means the days of the week need no separate names for each day, other than Sunday.
Examples in context
- Xīngqīliù wǒ bù shàngbān.I do not work on Saturday.
- Zhōuliù wǒmen qù pá shān.On Saturday we are going hiking.
- Xīngqīliù yǒu kòng ma?Are you free on Saturday?
Example conversation
Hua invites her friend Dan to a weekend event.
- HuaXīngqīliù nǐ yǒu kòng ma?Are you free on Saturday?
- DanYǒu, zěnme le?Yes, why?
- HuaWǒmen yīqǐ chī wǎnfàn ba.Let us have dinner together.
