The New Year is fast approaching and it's time for a new calendar, but before running out and buying a new one consider making your own. This is a great way to review numbers and the character 月 (ㄩㄝˋ, yuè, moon or month). The reason for this is simple- in Chinese the names of the months are simply 一月, 二月, 三月, etc. If you already have a calendar, use a piece of paper to stick the name of the month in Chinese next to the English name.- January 一月
- February 二月
- March 三月
- April 四月
- May 五月
- June 六月
- July 七月
- August 八月
- September 九月
- October 十月
- November 十一月
- December 十二月
If your kid finds this interesting or if you want to add a little bit more to this short lesson, show them how the Chinese write/say the names of the week. Notice that the week starts on Monday, not Sunday as in the Western calendar. Also point out that the days of the week follow a pattern until you reach Sunday.
- Monday= 星期一 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 一, Xīng qí yī)
- Tuesday= 星期二 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 ㄦˋ, Xīng qí èr)
- Wednesday= 星期三 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 ㄙㄢ, Xīng qí sān)
- Thursday= 星期四 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 ㄙˋ, Xīng qí sì)
- Friday= 星期五 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 ㄨˇ, Xīng qí wǔ)
- Saturday= 星期六 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 ㄌ一 ㄡˋ, Xīng qí liù)
- Sunday (written)= 星期日 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 ㄖˋ, Xīng qí rì)
- Sunday (spoken)= 星期天 (ㄒ一ㄥ ㄑ一 ㄊ一 ㄢ, Xīng qí tiān)
You may also notices several other common characters and radicals. See if your child can find the following radicals/characters inside the days of the week:
- 日(ㄖˋ, rì, sun )
- 生 (ㄕㄥ, shēng, to be born)
- 月 (ㄩㄝˋ, yuè, moon/month)
- 天 (ㄊㄧㄢ, tiān, day/sky)
- 一 (一, yī , 1)
- 二 (ㄦˋ, èr, 2)
- 三 (ㄙㄢ, sān, 3)
- 四 (ㄙˋ, sì, 4)
- 五 (ㄨˇ, wǔ, 5)
- 六 (ㄌㄧㄡˋ, liù, 6).
Below is an example of a calendar you can make with Chinese characters. Please, feel free to print this off and use it for your home. Consider this another way to "Point Out" Chinese characters to your child in your home. Each day cross of the last day and talk about what the new date is.
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