after marriage. Overseas Chinese and foreigners will have to get used to this new convention and address married women by their maiden name, e.g. if her surname is Lǐ 李 she should be addressed as Lǐ xiǎojie 李小姐 or Lǐ dàjiě 李大姐 (for older woman). However, you may even use the older title tàitai 太太 after the husband’s surname in formal situations.
surname
xìng
姓
first name
míngzi
名字
initials
xìngmíng suōxiě
姓名缩写
address (street/number)
dìzhǐ (jiē/ménpáihào)
地址 (街／门牌号)
postal code/town
yóubié/chéngshì
邮编／城市
sex (male/female)
xìngbié (nán/nǚ)
性别 (男／女)
nationality/citizenship
guójí
国籍
date of birth
chūshēng rìqī
出生日期
place of birth
chūshēng dìdiǎn
出生地点
occupation
zhíyè
职业
marital status
hūnyīn zhuàngkuàng
婚烟状况
married/single
yǐhūn/wèihūn
已婚／未婚
widowed
guǎfù/guānfū
寡妇／鳏夫
(number of) children
érnǚ (shùmù)
儿女 (数目)
passport/identity card/driving license number
hùzhào/shēnfènzhèng/jiàshǐzhízhào hàomǎ
护照／身份证／驾驶执照号码
place and date of issue
qiānfā dìdiǎn/qiānfā rìqī
签发地点／签发日期
signature
qiānmíng
签名
1.2 Today or tomorrow?
What day is it today?
Jīntiān shì xīngqījǐ?/lǐbàijǐ
今天是星期几?／礼拜几?
Today’s Monday
Jīntiān shì xīngqīyī/lǐbàiyī
今天是星期一／礼拜一
Tuesday
xīngqī’èr/lǐbài’èr
星期二／礼拜二
Wednesday
xīngqīsān/lǐbàisān
星期三／礼拜三
Thursday
xīngqīsì/lǐbàisì
星期四／礼拜四
Friday
xīngqīwǔ/lǐbàiwǔ
星期五／礼拜五
Saturday
xīngqīliù/lǐbàiliù
星期六／礼拜六
Sunday
xīngqītiān/xīngqīrì, lǐbàitiān/lǐbàirì
星期天／星期日、礼拜天／礼拜日
in January
(zài) Yīyuè
(在) 一月
since February
Èryuèyǐlái
二月以来
in spring
(zài) chūntiān
(在) 春天
in summer
(zài) xiàtiān
(在) 夏天
in autumn
(zài) qiūtiān
(在) 秋天
in winter
(zài) dōngtiān
(在) 冬天
2012
Èrlíngyīèr nián
二零一二年
the twentieth century
Èrshí shìjì
20 世纪
the twenty-first century
Èrshíyī shìjì
21 世纪
What’s the date today?
Jīntiān jǐhào?
今天几号？
Today’s the 24th
Jīntiān shì èrshísì hào
今天是24号
Wednesday 3 November
Shíyīyuè sānhào, xīngqīsān
十一月三号，星期三
in the morning
(zài) zǎoshang
(在) 早上
in the afternoon
(zài) xiàwǔ
(在) 下午
in the evening
(zài) wǎnshang
(在) 晚上
at night
(zài) yèlǐ
(在) 夜里
this morning
jīntiān zǎoshang
今天早上
this afternoon
jīntiān xiàwǔ
今天下午
this evening
jīntiān wǎnshang
今天晚上
tonight
jīntiān wǎnshang
今天晚上
last night
zuótiān