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When accepting an answer, I noticed that the example used the word 周三 for Wednesday, but in my grammar, the days of the week are 星期一, 星期二, etc...

They seem both correct but, what's the difference? Is one more common, or are they simply used in difference situations?

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a slightly fix: 周日 is not equal to 周天 周日 = Sunday 周天 is the opposite of weekend (週末), yes, it's weekdays –  Allen St.Clair Sep 21 '13 at 8:42
@AllenSt.Clair Never heard of the word “周天”, at least in mainland. –  sq2t Sep 28 '13 at 17:42
@CoderTian Yes, it used in HK often but not in mainland. –  Allen St.Clair Oct 2 '13 at 4:24

6 Answers 6

up vote 10 down vote accepted

You have 3 methods when talking about the seven days of the week.

  1. 星期[X]

  2. 礼拜[X]

  3. 周[X]

Here, "X" represents "一，二，三,四，五，六" for "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday". For case 1 and 2, X could be "日" or "天" for Sunday,for case 3, X should be "日" for Sunday.

What' the difference?
Well, I think the 星期 and 周 are common to see, while 礼拜 is less but still common(I think it's the personal or regional perference. Thanks for fefe's suggestion). 礼拜 originates from Christianity, and in ordinary life, each type is accepatble.

Why did I use "周三" in that example?
Because I used "本周二" in that example, then why I used "本周二"? When you want to express "this Tuesday", you could say

  1. 本周二
  2. 这个星期二
  3. 这周星期二
  4. 本周星期二

Each of them is interchangeable. You see, "本周二" is the shortest form, so I used that. When you are talking about the days for a specific week, I think 周 is more common(please note that 周 means week).

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礼拜 is often heard in spoken language in my hometown. –  fefe Jan 22 '12 at 14:07
@fefe OK, I have never lived in the northern area. I just think 礼拜 is less common in the life around me. Thanks for your reminder. I will edit my answer. –  Huang Jan 22 '12 at 14:21
Well, I think it will differ in different places. –  fefe Jan 22 '12 at 14:31
礼拜 is more common in my hometown too. –  Fivesheep Jan 22 '12 at 15:21
"Libai" is common in many parts of China. The curiousest thing I've noticed is that speakers of dialects where 礼拜 is common (such as Cantonese) tend to use 星期 when using Mandarin, presumably because 星期 is taught as the 'better' form. –  Bathrobe Jan 23 '12 at 18:08

I don't feel there is much difference in these two expression. There maybe some personal preference though.

In formal situations, the 星期 version should be preferred.

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The difference is that you may use 星期天, but not *周天; and you may use 周末, but not *星期末.

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OK, what about 周日 then? –  Bathrobe Jan 23 '12 at 17:31
周日 can mean either Sunday or weekday (in China iirc), depending on the region where it is used. Beginners should stick to 星期天 for more precision. 周天 means a day (any day) –  prusswan Jan 25 '12 at 14:47

星期X is more written word. 周X is more spoken word. But in most cases, you can switch those words equally.

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Could be regional difference. Some regions see more 星期x, some more 周x, some even 礼拜x. There could be personal preferences as well. I tend to say 星期x but 下周x and 上周x instead of 下星期x and 上星期x.

In formal situations, say 星期x; 本周x, 下周x, 上周x are also used, but not 星期天, say 星期日, 本周日, 下周日, etc instead.

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They are equal with slightly difference:

周X，specific to "this week"，means "someday of this week" 星期X，for general cases，means "someday of any week"

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protected by 杨以轩 Sep 24 '13 at 7:52


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