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5.2: Dates (模块二: 日期)

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    33176
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    Module II: Dates

    模块二:日期

    Scenario 2.1: Li Ming asks Zhang Wenshan what the date is today.

    LM:

    ZhW:

    文山,今天几号?

    五号。

    今天

    jīntiān

    today

    hào

    day of the month

    Note:

    号 is used after a number to indicate the day of the month. “(June) 5th” is (六月)五号.

    Scenario 2.2: Li Ming asks Zhang Wenshan when his birthday is.

    LM:

    ZhW:

    LM:

    ZhW:

    文山,你的生日是几月几号?

    六月六号。

    你是哪年出生的?

    1998年。

    生日

    shēngrì

    birthday

    yuè

    month

    which

    nián

    year

    出生

    chūshēng

    to be born

    Note:

    月 lit. “moon”, also means “month.” 几月 is used to ask “What month/Which month…?”

    MONTHS OF THE YEAR

    January

    yī yuè

    一月

    February

    èr yuè

    二月

    March

    sān yuè

    三月

    April

    sì yuè

    四月

    May

    wǔ yuè

    五月

    June

    liù yuè

    六月

    July

    qī yuè

    七月

    August

    bā yuè

    八月

    September

    jiǔ yuè

    九月

    October

    shí yuè

    十月

    November

    shíyī yuè

    十一月

    December

    shí'èr yuè

    十二月

    你的生日是几月几号 literally means “Your birthday is which month which day?” This is the most common way to inquire about somebody’s birthday.

    是…的The pattern is often used to emphasize the time or the place of known past actions. When using this pattern, the people involved in the conversation are already aware of the fact that it happened in the past. 是…的 is used to clarify when or where the action took place. 是 is placed before time phrases or place phrases; sometimes 是 is omitted. 的is usually used at the end of the sentence. The pattern is:

    Subject + 是 + Time Phrase + Verb + 的

    我 是 1998年 出生 的。

    (lit. “I was in 1998 born.”)

    哪 is the question word that is used to ask “Which…?” Note that a measure word is needed after 哪.

    年means “year.” 哪年is used to ask “What year/Which year…?” To read a year of the calendar you will read off one digit at a time and follow by 年. For example:

    the year 1998

    yī jiǔ jiǔ bā nián

    the year 2000

    èr líng líng líng nián

    the year 2001

    èr líng líng yī nián

    the year 2010

    èr líng yī líng nián

    the year 2018

    èr líng yībā nián

    ORDER OF DATES The order of dates in Chinese is the opposite of that in English. The pattern is:

    Year + Month + Day of the Month (from the general to the specific)

    1998年 6月 6号

    Scenario 2.3: Li Ming asks Zhang Wenshan what day it is today.

    LM:

    ZhW:

    文山,今天星期几?

    星期二。

    星期

    xīngqī

    week

    Note:

    星期几 is the question word that is used to ask “What day is it today?”

    DAYS OF THE WEEK

    Monday

    xīngqī yī

    星期一

    Tuesday

    xīngqī èr

    星期二

    Wednesday

    xīngqī sān

    星期三

    Thursday

    xīngqī sì

    星期四

    Friday

    xīngqī wǔ

    星期五

    Saturday

    xīngqī liù

    星期六

    Sunday

    xīngqī rì/

    xīngqī tiān

    星期日/

    星期天


    This page titled 5.2: Dates (模块二: 日期) is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Lin Hong (洪琳).

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