星期
The Cantonese word for week is 星期. Wiktionary also lists 禮拜 / 礼拜 (lai⁵ baai³).
Meaning: period of seven days (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 星期 | |
| 禮拜 / 礼拜 | lai⁵ baai³ |
Both 星期 and 禮拜 are used to refer to a period of seven days.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 星期 is composed of 星 (star) and 期 (period/cycle). The term 禮拜 is composed of 禮 (ritual/rite) and 拜 (to worship/bow), which reflects its historical connection to religious services.
Which one should you use?
星期 is the standard and more formal way to say 'week', whereas 禮拜 is a more colloquial and common way to say 'week' in spoken Cantonese.
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to a specific week, Cantonese speakers often use the classifier 個 (go3) before 星期, such as in the phrase 今個星期 (this week).
Did you know?
- While 星期 means 'star period', it is actually a direct translation of the Western concept of a seven-day week, rather than a traditional Chinese lunar cycle.
- The word for Sunday is 星期日 or 星期天, using the word for 'sun' or 'day' instead of the number seven.
- The term 禮拜 is still used specifically to refer to a church service, allowing the same word to mean both 'a week' and 'a prayer meeting'.
Examples in context
- 星期日係一個禮拜裏面嘅最後一日。Sunday is the last day of the week.This sentence is useful for identifying the last day of the week using 星期.Tatoeba #800845 by nickyeow, translation #281873 by Zifre
- 羅克今個星期喺美國國家科學院院刊報導，話佢同加州大學聖塔克魯斯分校同堪培拉澳洲國立大學嘅同事喺近400米嘅深度收集咗啲珊瑚樣本。Reporting this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Roark says he and colleagues from the University of California-Santa Cruz and Australian National University in Canberra collected samples of the coral from depths of nearly 400 meters.This sentence shows the use of 星期 in a reporting context.Tatoeba #12908224 by Matthewyau1367, translation #12382560 by Cangarejo
- 帕德伯恩大學嘅研究人員已經證實咗，一個講法文嘅人要學習英文長達2000個鐘先至可以正確噉講英文。鑑於一年有32個星期嘅堂，每個星期有3個鐘嘅堂，所以一個法國人要講好英文就需要20.83年嘅學習。Researchers at the university of Paderborn have established that it took up to 2000 hours of English learning for a French speaker to speak English correctly. Given that there are 32 weeks of classes in a year and with 3 hours of lessons every week, 20.83 years of study are thus necessary for a French person to speak good English.This sentence demonstrates how to use 星期 when discussing schedules and timeframes.Tatoeba #13493335 by Davidgo5867, translation #958175 by sacredceltic
- 下個禮拜見！See you next week!
- 佢會離開七日嘅。He will be away for a week.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their schedules at a cafe.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit你呢個星期忙唔忙呀？nei5 ni1 go3 sing1 kei4 mong4 m4 mong4 aa3?Are you busy this week?
- 美玲 Mei Ling好忙呀，我呢個星期好似每日都有事。hou2 mong4 aa3, ngo5 ni1 go3 sing1 kei4 hou2 ci5 mui5 jat6 dou1 jau5 si6.Very busy, it seems like I have things to do every day this week.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit咁下個星期你得唔得閒呀？gam2 ha6 go3 sing1 kei4 nei5 dak1 m4 dak1 haang4 aa3?Then are you free next week?
- 美玲 Mei Ling下個星期應該會得閒啲。ha6 go3 sing1 kei4 jing1 goi1 wui5 dak1 haang4 di1.I should be a bit more free next week.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “week” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
