今天几号
jīntiān jǐ hào
In Chinese, the phrase for asking the date today is 今天几号 (jīntiān jǐ hào).
今天几号 is used specifically to ask for the numerical day of the month, rather than the day of the week.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to today which number.
Which one should you use?
If you want to ask for the day of the week (e.g., Monday, Tuesday) instead of the date, use 今天星期几. Adding '几月' (jǐ yuè) before '几号' (jǐ hào) changes the question from asking for just the day of the month to asking for both the month and the day.
How does it change in a sentence?
The character 月 can be added after a number to indicate 'month' and 号 can be added after a number to indicate 'day'. The year 2023 is expressed as 二零二三年.
How do you pronounce it?
jīntiān jǐ hào
Did you know?
- Chinese has a traditional lunar calendar used for festivals, meaning a person might know the 'solar' date of 今天几号 but also keep track of a completely different 'lunar' date.
- The character 号 can also mean 'size' when shopping for clothes or 'number' when referring to a phone extension.
- The character 月 represents the 'moon', as the Chinese months were originally based on the lunar cycle.
Examples in context
- 今天是二零二三年六月二十三号Today is June 23, 2023
- 二月February
- 二十三号23rd
- 请问，今天几号？Qǐngwèn, jīntiān jǐ hào?Excuse me, what is the date today?
- 今天几号？我忘了。Jīntiān jǐ hào? Wǒ wàngle.What is the date today? I forgot.
- 你知道今天几号吗？Nǐ zhīdào jīntiān jǐ hào ma?Do you know what the date is today?
Example conversation
Jiayi is looking at a calendar in the office.
- 佳怡 Jiayi俊杰，请问今天几号？Jùnjié, qǐngwèn jīntiān jǐ hào?Junjie, excuse me, what is the date today?
- 俊杰 Junjie今天十月五号。Jīntiān shí yuè wǔ hào.Today is October 5th.
- 佳怡 Jiayi谢谢你。Xièxiè nǐ.Thank you.
- 俊杰 Junjie不客气。Bù kèqì.You're welcome.
