Easy Ways To Tell Date And Time In Cantonese

Date And Time In Cantonese

Date and time are part of our daily life. When you’re happy, you will wish the date 日期 (jat6 kei4) and time 時間 (si4 gaan3) to stop. In Hong Kong, knowing the date and time in Cantonese will be helpful in different situations. It can be used to book flights, restaurant reservations, observe shops, malls, and museum hours.

Telling date and time in the Cantonese language is similar to how it’s done in the English Language. So, all you have to do is learn Cantonese vocabulary about date and time. However, it would be best if you also considered learning the right pronunciation of each word and Chinese character. With the pronunciation, I’m pretty sure the Ling app can make it happen.

Traditional Chinese Calendar Vs Modern Calendar

In Hong Kong, they make use of two types of calendars. The first one is the 農曆 (nung4 lik6), 舊曆 (gau6 lik6), or 陰曆 (jam1 lik6), which is known as the Traditional Chinese Calendar. This calendar is lunisolar, and it is based on its months and days according to astronomical phenomena. Hong Kongers also use this calendar as a basis for conducting funerals, weddings, or starting a business.

Hong Kong also uses the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar that is also used in most countries in the world.

Date And Time In Cantonese What is the date Format

What Is The Date Format In Cantonese?

Knowing how to write the date in Cantonese is important. Of course, you can do it in English. But, it is still nice to learn how to write and say it in Cantonese. This will help you take note of important dates to remember, like your flight, important celebrations and holidays, and even the birthdays of your friends and family. Here is how times are written in Cantonese.

[year]年 [month]月 [day]日 (nin4 / jyut6 / jat6).

This format is also used in different parts of the world, so it would not be hard for you to understand. What you need to do is to learn how to state months, days, and years in Cantonese. You will learn this as you go further on this blog.

Years In Cantonese – 年 (nin4)

Another important thing to learn about dates and times in Cantonese is the years. Giving the year in Cantonese is very interesting because, unlike in other languages, Cantonese reads each digit individually. For example, in the year 2021, when read in English, we would say (Two thousand twenty-one / Twenty twenty-one). But, for Cantonese, you would say (Two, Zero, Two, One).

Here are some examples of years in Cantonese.

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
The year 2019二零一九年ji6 ling4 jat1 gau2 nin4
The year 2020 二零j二零年ji6 ling4 ji6 ling4
The year 2021二零j二一年ji6 ling4 ji6 jat1 nin4
The year 2022二千零二十二ji6 cin1 ling4 ji6 sap6 ji6
The year 2023 二千零二十三ji6 cin1 ling4 ji6 sap6 saam1
Date And Time In Cantonese months of the year

What Are Months Of The Year In Cantonese? 月 (yut6)

In Cantonese, the character 月 (yut6) is used for the word “month.” To state the month in Cantonese, add the number order of the month before 月 (yut6). For example, January is the 1st month in a year so, you would say jat1 (1st) yut6 (month). Check out the examples below for the Cantonese term for other months.

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
January一月jat1 yut6
February 二月ji6 yut6
March三月saam1 yut6
 April四月sei3 yut6
May五月ng5 yut6
 June 六月luk6 yut6
 July七月cat1 yut6
August八月baat3 yut6
September九月gau2 yut6
October十月sap6 yut6
November十一月sap6 jat1 yut6
December十二月sap6 ji6 yut6

Days in Cantonese – 日 (jat6

Writing day of the month in Cantonese is almost the same as what other countries do. 日 (jat6) is the Chinese character for “day.” So if you want to express day in Cantonese, add the number in front of the Chinese character 日 (jat6).

Example: baat3 jat6 (8th of the month)

Take note!

  1. Written and spoken form of stating dates is different.
  2. Use the Chinese character 日 (jat6) for writing. Use the Chinese character 號 (hou6) for spoken.
  3. Replace 二十 (ji6 sap6) with 廿 (jaa6) when speaking.
English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
1st一日jat1 jat6
2nd二日ji6 jat6 
3rd三日saam1 jat6
4th四日sei3 jat6
5th五日 ng5 jat6
6th六日luk6 jat6
7th七日cat1 jat6 
8th八日baat3 jat6
9th九日gau2 jat6 
10th十日sap6 jat6
11th十一日sap6 jat1 jat6
12th十二日sap6 ji6 jat6
13th十三日sap6 saam1 jat6
14th十四日sap6 sei3 jat6
15th十五日sap6 ng5 jat6
16th十六日sap6 luk6 jat6
17th十七日sap6 cat1 jat6
18th十八日sap6 baat3 jat6
19th十九日sap6 gau2 jat6 
20th二十日ji6 sap6 jat6 
21st二十一日ji6 sap6 jat1 jat6
22nd二十二日 ji6 sap6 ji6 jat6
 23rd二十三日ji6 sap6 saam1 jat6 
24th 二十四日 ji6 sap6 sei3 jat6 
25th二十五日 ji6 sap6 ng5 jat6
26th二十六日 ji6 sap6 luk6 jat6
27th二十七日 ji6 sap6 cat1 jat6
28th二十八日 ji6 sap6 baat3 jat6
29th二十九日ji6 sap6 gau2 jat6
30th三十日saam1 sap6 jat6
31st三十一日saam1 sap6 jat1 jat6

What Are Days Of The Week In Cantonese?

After learning the months of the year, you should also learn the days of the week. Here is the list of Cantonese days of the week.

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
Sunday星期日sing1 kei4 jat6
Monday星期sing1 kei4 jat1
Tuesday星期二sing1 kei4 ji6
Wednesday星期三sing1 kei4 saam1
Thursday星期四sing1 kei4 sei3
Friday星期五sing1 kei4 ng5
Saturday星期六sing1 kei4 luk6
Date And Time In Cantonese What Is Time In Cantonese

What Is Time In Cantonese? 時間 (si4 gaan1)

Telling time in Cantonese is pretty similar to how it is done in English. Start reading the hour, and the minute, then the time of the day.

Hours

Let us first talk about hours. Here are ways on how to tell the time in Cantonese:

Number of Hours (1 – 12) + 點 (dim2)

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
1 o’clockjat1 dim2
2 o’clock兩點loeng5 dim2
3 o’clock三點saam1 dim2
4 o’clock四點sei3 dim2
5 o’clock五點ng5 dim2
6 o’clock六點luk6 dim2
7 o’clock七點cat1 dim2
8 o’clock八點baat3 dim2
9 o’clock九點gau2 dim2
10 o’clock十點sap6 dim2
11 o’clock十一點sap6 jat1 dim2
12 o’clock十二點sap6 ji6 dim2

Minutes – 分鐘 (fan1 zung1).

After learning the hour, let us learn how to tell the time in Cantonese, including the minutes. To express hours and minutes, say the hour, then add the number (1-59) to the Chinese character 分 (fan1).

Take note! For numbers 1-9, we’ll add “0” in front, just like in English.

hour + 點 (dim2) + number of minutes past the hour

Here are some examples:

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
1:05點零五分jat1 dim2 ling4 ng5 fan1
4:28四點二十八分sei3 dim2 ji6 sap6 baat3 fan1
8:44八點四十四分baat3 dim2 sei3 sap6 sei3 fan1
11:51十一點五十一分sap6 jat1 dim2 ng5 sap6 jat1 fan1
12:59十二點五十九分sap6 ji6 dim2 ng5 sap6 gau2 fan1

Quarters – 十五分鐘 (sap6 ng5 fan1 zung1)

For quarters, use the following:

FromToWhen To Use?
三 saam1十五分 sap6 ng5 fan1for 15
半 bun3三十分 saam1 sap6 fan1for 30
九 gau2四十五分 sei3 sap6 ng5 fan1for 45

Times Of The Day In Cantonese

You should also know the different times of the day when you are learning about dates and times in Cantonese. You also encounter some of these terms in learning the Basic Greetings in Cantonese.

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
morning朝早jiu1 jou2
a.m. / morning (spoken language)上晝soeng6 zau3
noon晏晝aan3 zau3
afternoon下晝ha6 jau3
p.m. / afternoon (spoken language)下晝haa6 zau3
eveningmaan5
daytime 白天baak6 tin1
Date And Time In Cantonese Other Vocabulary Related

Other Vocabulary Related To Time And Date In Cantonese

Part of learning the date and time in Cantonese is expanding your vocabulary. Here is some vocabulary that you can add to your list.

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
calendar日曆jat6 lik6
every day每日mui5 yat6
Week (casual)禮拜lai5 baai3
Week (both formal and casual)星期sing1 kei4
Weekend週末jau1 mut6 
Weekday平日ping4 yat6
Date日期jat6 kei4
Today (casual)今日gam1 yat6
Today (formal)今天gam1 tin1m
Yesterday (casual)尋日cam4 jat6
Yesterday (formal) 昨天zok3 tin1
 Tomorrow (casual)聽日 ting1 yat6
Tomorrow (formal)明天ming4 tin1
The day before yesterday前日cin4 jat6
The day after tomorrow後日hau6 jat6
next month下個月ha6 go3 yut6
Leap year day閏年日jeon6 nin4 jat6
a minute一分鐘yat1 fan1 zung1
a second一秒yat1 miu5
…quarter to⋯(-1)點九⋯(-1)dim2 gau2
.. half⋯點半⋯dim2 bun3
…quarter past⋯點三⋯dim2 saam1
an hour一個鐘yat1 go3 zung1
now而家yi4 ga1
untildou3
fromyau4
before之前ji1 chin4
after之後ji1 hau6
meanwhile同時tung4 si4
soon就嚟zau6 lai4
almost就快zau6 faai3
24-hours廿四小時jaa6 sei3 siu2 si4
next year出年ceot1 nin2
last year 舊年gau6 nin2
light year光年gwong1 nin4
Date And Time In Cantonese Lets Practice

Let’s Practice Your Vocabulary About Date And Time In Cantonese

Have fun learning date and Time in Cantonese? Learning Cantonese and other languages will be easier when you practice a lot and use it in conversations. Below is some vocabulary about dates and times in Cantonese that will help you master your skills in written and spoken form.

English TranslationCantoneseJyutping
May 31st is World No Smoking Day.五月三十一日是世界無煙日ng5 jyut6 saam1 sap6 jat1 jat6 si6 sai3 gaai3 mou4 jin1 jat6
I swim every Monday.我 逢 星 期 一 去 游 水。ngo5 fung4 sing1 kei4 yat1 heui3 yau4 seui2。
We learn to sing every weekend.我 哋 逢 周 末 去 學 唱 歌。ngo5 dei6 fung4 jau1 mut6 heui3 hok6 cheung3 go1。
She goes shopping at the market every month.佢 每 個 月 都 去 街 市 買 嘢。keui5 mui5 go3 yut6 dou1 heui3 gaai1 si5 maai5 ye5。
I walk to school every day.我 每 日 都 行 返 學。ngo5 mui5 yat6 dou1 haang4 faan1 hok6。
Today is a holiday.今 日 係 假 期。gam1 yat6 hai6 ga3 kei4。
New Year’s Day is on January 1st.元 旦 喺 一 月 一 日。yun4 daan3 hai2 yat1 yut6 yat1 yat6。
December 31st is New Year’s Eve.十二月三十一日是除夕sap6 ji6 jyut6 saam1 sap6 jat1 jat6 si6 ceoi4 zik6
Valentine’s Day is on February 14th.情 人 節 喺 二 月 十 四 日。ching4 yan4 jit3 hai2 yi6 yut6 sap6 sei3 yat6。-
Christmas is on December 25th.聖 誕 節 喺 十 二 月 二 十 五 日。sing3 daan3 jit3 hai2 sap6 yi6 yut6 yi6 sap6 ng5 yat6。
We are getting married in June. 我們在六月結婚ngo5 mun4 zoi6 luk6 jyut6 git3 fan1
See you next year!下年見!haa6 nin2 gin3!
What time is it?幾點鐘?gei2 dim2 zung1
It is 7 a.m.而 家 朝 早 七 點。yi4 ga1 jiu1 jou2 chat1 dim2。
It’s now 12 o’clock.而家十二點ji4 gaa1 sap6 ji6 dim2

It’s Time To Learn Cantonese With The Ling App!

Life is too short to limit yourself to learning another language. Your love for your own native language is irreplaceable. But, would it hurt you to expand your horizons, connect to more people, and discover different cultures? You have just learned about the date and time in Cantonese.

Want to do more? Search for quizzes, fun-filled activities, and practical exercises by downloading the Ling app on the Play Store or App Store!

With that, you’re up to a good start. Do not waste any year, month, or day. Make it worth it! Learn Cantonese using the Ling app now!

Learn Word about Time in Cantonese with the Ling app
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