Learn Chinese L5: What is the date today?

On a Sunday morning, Dachuan asks about the day and time, because he has a date with Li Mei.

Dialogue One

jīn　tiān　xīnɡ qī　 jǐ
今　天　 星　期　几？
What day is it today?
jīn　tiān　xīnɡ qī　 rì
今　天　 星　期　日。
It's Sunday.
xīnɡ qī　 rì　　 jīn　tiān　 wǒ　hé　lǐ　méi　yǒu　yuē　huì　
星　期　日？！今　天　　我　 和　李　梅　 有　　约　 会！
xiàn zài　jǐ　diǎn　le
现　在　几　 点　 了？
Sunday?! I have a date with Li Mei! What time is it now?
bā　diǎn　èr　shí　sì　fēn
八　 点　 二　十　 四　分。
Eight twenty four.
Dialogue Two

jīn　tiān　jǐ　hào
今　天 　几　号？
What's the date?
jīn　tiān　jiǔ　hào　zěn　me　le
今　天　 九　号。　怎　 么　了？
It's the ninth. What's up?
yuē huì　shì　zài　xià　zhōu　rì
约　会　是　 在　 下　 周　 日。
The date is on next Sunday.
Explantion of difficult points


1. 号
"号"(hào) is used in a different way than what we've learned in Lesson 3, which means number. Here it means "date" as "6月5号"(liù yuè wǔ hào) referring to "the 5th of June".
2. 月
一月(yī yuè )　January

二月(èr yuè)　February

三月(sān yuè)　March

四月(sì yuè)　April

五月(wǔ yuè)　May

六月(liù yuè)　June

七月(qī yuè)　July

八月(bā yuè)　August

九月(jiǔ yuè)　September

十月(shí yuè)　October

十一月(shí yī yuè)　November

十二月(shí èr yuè)　December


3. 周…… & 星期……
"周……"(zhōu) means "week" and is interchangeable with "星期……"(xīng qī) or "礼拜……"(lǐ bài).
Days of the week

Sunday　周日(zhōu rì), 星期日(xīng qī rì), 星期天(xīng qī tiān), 礼拜日(lǐ bài rì), 礼拜天(lǐ bài tiān)

Monday　周一(zhōu yī), 星期一(xīng qī yī), 礼拜一(lǐ bài yī)

Tuesday　周二(zhōu èr), 星期二(xīng qī èr), 礼拜二(lǐ bài èr)

Wednesday　周三(zhōu sān), 星期三(xīng qī sān), 礼拜三(lǐ bài sān)

Thursday　周四(zhōu sì), 星期四(xīng qī sì), 礼拜四(lǐ bài sì)

Friday　周五(zhōu wǔ), 星期五(xīng qī wǔ), 礼拜五(lǐ bài wǔ)

Saturday　周六(zhōu liù), 星期六(xīng qī liù), 礼拜六(lǐ bài liù) 　　　　　　　　　　　　

4. time
1) There are 3 ways to express time:

A. Just say the hour then "点"(diǎn) and the minutes then "分"(fēn). "分"(fēn) is commonly omitted. If it is the top of the hour, "分"(fēn) is always omitted. If it is less than 10 minutes, then you have to say "零"(líng) before the minute. See below for examples.

B. Another way is to use the word "过"(guò) which means "past". "六点过八分"(liù diǎn guò bā fēn) means "eight minutes past six o'clock". For this method, "分"(fēn) cannot be omitted. This way is used if it is less than 30 minutes past the hour. See below for examples.

C. The final way is using the word "差"(chà) which means "short of/differ from". "差五分六点"(chà wǔ fēn liù diǎn) means "five minutes to six o'clock". This way is usually used if it is more than 30 minutes past the hour. See below for examples.

2) Quarter and half hours:

"刻"(kè) is a quarter of an hour, "半"(bàn) is half (an hour in this case)

3) Other useful words:

a. Hour　　　小时(xiǎo shí, length of time)

b. Minute 　分钟(fēn zhōng, length of time)

c. Morning 　上午(shàng wǔ)

d. Afternoon　下午(xià wǔ)

Examples:

10: 28　十点二十八分(shí diǎn èr shí bā fēn)　十点二十八(shí diǎn èr shí bā)

7:00　　七点(qī diǎn)　七点整(qī diǎn zhěng)

9:07　　九点零七分(jiǔ diǎn líng qī fēn)　九点零七(jiǔ diǎn líng qī)

4:35　　四点三十五分(sì diǎn sān shí wǔ fēn)　四点三十五(sì diǎn sān shí wǔ)

5:15　　五点十五分(wǔ diǎn shí wǔ fēn)　五点一刻(wǔ diǎn yí kè)

6:45　　六点四十五(liù diǎn sì shí wǔ)　七点差一刻(qī diǎn chà yí kè)

12:30　 十二点三十分(shí èr diǎn sān shí fēn)　十二点半(shí èr diǎn bàn)


5. 怎么了？
"怎么了?"(zěn me le) is a very commonly used phrase, meaning "What's wrong/the matter/the problem?", "What's up?", or "What happened?"