Chinese dates go from the biggest unit to the smallest: year (年 nián), then month (月 yuè), then day (号 hào), then the day of the week (星期 xīngqī). So 17 October 2026 is 2026年10月17号.
Year + 年, month + 月, day + 号. The order never changes, so a learner's most common mistake is to follow English and say 十七号十月. The correct order is 十月十七号.
Years are read one digit at a time: 2026年 is èr líng èr liù nián, not "two thousand and twenty-six". Months are just the numbers 一 to 十二 plus 月, so 一月 is January and 十二月 is December. In speech the day is 号; in writing, on forms and signs, you will also see 日 (rì).
A month name uses the plain number with no measure word: 二月 is February. To count how many months, add 个 and use 两 for two: 两个月 is "two months". Mixing these up is a very common mistake, so never say 两月.
Monday to Saturday are 星期 plus a number: 星期一 is Monday, 星期六 is Saturday. Sunday is different: 星期天 in speech or 星期日 in writing, never 星期七. To ask which day it is, put 几 where the number goes: 星期几.
For "next" and "last", use 下个 and 上个: 下个星期三 is next Wednesday, 上个月 is last month. For years, use 去年, 今年 and 明年 instead.
To ask the date, put 几 in place of the numbers: 几月几号. You don't need 是 when you give the date, but you do need it in a negative: 今天不是星期六, not 今天不星期六.
When you say when something happens, the date goes before the verb, either before or after the subject: 我们十月二十号回家 or 十月二十号我们回家. Putting it at the end, as in English, is wrong.
Practise this grammar point on paper: 19 exercises using only HSK 1 words, with an answer key on a separate page. Free to print and copy for your class.
Every example on this page uses only words up to HSK 1. Paste your own sentences into the level checker to see which words, if any, are above your level.