Chinese Daily Routine
Vocabulary
Chinese Days of the Week Vocabulary
Let's start with the days of the week so you could clearly express your schedule in
Chinese.
Hanzi Pinyin Definition
星期一 Xīngqīyī Monday
星期二 Xīngqī'èr Tuesday
星期三 Xīngqīsān Wednesday
星期四 Xīngqīsì Thursday
星期五 Xīngqīwǔ Friday
星期六 Xīngqīliù Saturday
星期日 Xīngqīrì Sunday
周末 zhōumò weekend
假期 jiàqī holiday
平日 píngrì weekday
前天 qiántiān the day before yesterday
昨天 zuótiān yesterday
Hanzi Pinyin Definition
今天 jīntiān today
明天 míngtiān tomorrow
后天 hòutiān the day after tomorrow
每天 měitiān every day
每星期 měi xīngqí every week
每周末 měi zhōumò every weekend
前年 qiánnián the year before last year
去年 qùnián last year
今年 jīnnián this year
明年 míngnián next year
次年 cì nián the year after next year
上个_____ shàng gè_____ last (day/week/year)
下个_____ xià gè_____ next (day/week/year)
每 měi every
天 tiān day
星期 xīngqí week
Hanzi Pinyin Definition
年 nián year
每 (天/星期/年/周 měi (tiān/xīngqí/nián/zhōumò) every (day/week/year/weekend)
末）
Time of the Day in Chinese
Hanzi Pinyin Definition
凌晨 língchén Early morning (12 MN -2 AM)
黎明 límíng Dawn (4 AM-5 AM)
拂晓 fúxiǎo Dawn (4 AM-6 AM)
清晨 qīngchén Early morning (6 AM-7 AM)
早上 zǎoshàng Morning (6 AM-8 AM)
上午 shàngwǔ Morning (8 AM-11 AM)
中午 zhōngwǔ Noon (11 AM-1 PM)
下午 xiàwǔ Afternoon (2 PM-5 PM)
晚上 wǎnshang Evening (6 PM-10 PM)
傍晚 bàngwǎn Evening (5 PM-6 PM)
黄昏 huánghūn Dusk (4 PM-5 PM)
Hanzi Pinyin Definition
午夜 wǔyè Midnight (11 PM-1 AM)
夜间 yèjiān Nighttime (7 PM-5 AM)
一点 yīdiǎn 1:00 o'clock
两点 liǎng diǎn 2:00 o'clock
三点 sān diǎn 3:00 o'clock
四点 sì diǎn 4:00 o'clock
五点 wǔ diǎn 5:00 o'clock
六点 liù diǎn 6:00 o'clock
七点 qī diǎn 7:00 o'clock
八点 bā diǎn 8:00 o'clock
九点 jiǔ diǎn 9:00 o'clock
十点 shí diǎn 10:00 o'clock
十一 shíyī diǎn 11:00 o'clock
点
十二 shí'èr diǎn 12:00 o'clock
点
黎明 (límíng) or 破晓 (fúxiǎo) is used to indicate that it's the time the sun
rises. 早上 (zǎoshàng) is used to indicate that it's early morning after dawn. 上
午 (shàngwǔ) is used to indicate that it's before lunch. 下午 (xiàwǔ) is used to
indicate that it's after lunch. 傍晚 (bàngwǎn) or 黄昏 (huánghūn) is used to
indicate that it's the time the sun sets or goes down.午夜 (wǔyè) is used to
indicate that it's in the middle of the night. 夜间 (yèjiān) is used to indicate
nighttime in general.
Daily Routine in Chinese
Hanzi Pinyin Definition
参加会议 cānjiā huìyì attend meeting
刷牙 shuāyá brush teeth
买吃饭 mǎi chīfàn buy food
做早饭 zuò zǎofàn cook breakfast
做晚饭 zuò wǎnfàn cook dinner
穿好衣服 chuān hǎo yīfú dress up/put on clothes
吃早饭 chī zǎo fàn eat breakfast
吃晚饭 chī wǎnfàn eat dinner
吃午饭 chī wǔfàn eat lunch
起床 qǐchuáng get up (from bed)
去听音乐 qù tīng yīnyuè huì go to a concert
会
去聚会 qù jùhuì go to a party
上学 shàngxué go to school
Hanzi Pinyin Definition
上班 shàngbān go to work
跑步 pǎobù jog
听音乐 tīng yīnyuè listen to music
玩电子游 wán diànzǐ yóuxì play video games
戏
看书 kànshū read a book
睡觉 shuìjiào sleep
网上 wǎngshàng surf the net
洗澡 xǐzǎo take a bath/shower
洗脸 xǐliǎn wash face
看电影 kàn diànyǐng watch a movie
锻炼 duànliàn workout
Grammar
In telling the time, it is very important to indicate the situation of the time;
whether it’s in the morning, noon, afternoon, evening, etc. That indicator is
placed before the actual time and 点 (diǎn) which means “o’clock”
INDICATOR + TIME +
点
diǎn
Examples:
límíng wǔ diǎn
黎明 五 点
5:00 AM
zǎoshang shí diǎn
早上 十 点
10:00 AM
zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn
中午 十二 点
12:00 NN
xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn
下午 两 点
2:00 PM
wǎnshang qī diǎn
晚上 七 点
7:00 PM
When there is a time word that indicates “when” the action was done, the time
word is placed at the beginning of the sentence. It can be before or after the
subject but never after the place and verb.
SBJ + TIME (WHEN) + PLACE* + VERB
OR
TIME (WHEN) + SBJ + PLACE* + VERB
*Place here can be omitted (depending on your sentence)
zǎoshang bā diǎn wǒ qǐchuáng
早上 八 点 我 起床
I get up at 8 o'clock in the morning.
wǒ xiàwǔ yīdiǎn chī wǔfàn
我 下午 一点 吃 午饭
I eat lunch at 1 o'clock in the afternoon.
wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn dìdi wán diànzǐyóuxì
晚上 九 点 弟弟 玩 电子游戏
Younger brother plays videogames at 9 o'clock in the evening.
wǎnshang shí diǎn wǒmen shuìjiào
晚上 十 点 我们 睡觉
We go to sleep at 10 o'clock in the evening.
zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn wǒmen mǎi fàn
中午 十二 点 我们 买 饭
We buy food at 12 noon.
When adding the day and time in a sentence, the day in the sentence comes
before the time.
SBJ + DAY + TIME (WHEN) + PLACE* + VERB
OR
DAY + TIME (WHEN) + SBJ + PLACE* + VERB
*Place here can be omitted (depending on your sentence)
Examples:
Xīngqīrì zǎoshang māma qù chāoshì
星期日 早上 妈妈 去 超市
Mother goes to the market on Sunday morning.
wǒ jīntiān zǎoshang qī diǎn shàngbān
我 今天 早上 七 点 上班
Today, I will go to work at 7 o'clock in the morning.
zuótiān xiàwǔ wǒmen qù shēngrì jùhuì
昨天 下午 我们 去 生日 聚会
We went to a birthday party yesterday afternoon.
míngtiān wǎnshang bā diǎn tāmen huì kàn diànyǐng
明天 晚上 八 点 他们 会 看 电影
They will watch a movie tomorrow at 8 o'clock in the evening.
Practice time!
You can practice these words by sharing how your day was just like how you
would write it in a journal. Do this every day and surely your Chinese will
definitely improve.
Here’s an example of a “diary entry”:
Hanzi:
今天早上七点我起床。上午我有会议。下午四点我会下班。晚上我做晚饭
和吃晚饭。
Pinyin:
jīntiān zǎoshang qī diǎn wǒ qǐchuáng. Shàngwǔ wǒ yǒu huìyì. Xiàwǔ sì diǎn
wǒ huì xiàbān. Wǎnshàng wǒ zuò wǎnfàn hé chī wǎnfàn.
Translation:
I got up at seven this morning. I have a meeting before lunch. I will get off
work at four in the afternoon. In the evening I make dinner and eat dinner.
Now you try!
Keep practicing and enjoy learning Chinese!
