<p>In my believe, 星期天 originates from 禮拜天 which literally means worship day. In christian view, Sunday is dedicated to worshiping God and because the week system is introduced from Western, therefore calling it "worship day" is correct and still being used in modern days. The meaning, however, is lost (this reminds me of Christmas being replaced by Xmas somehow).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T06:26:25.373Z
2015-10-19T06:26:25.373Z
banapapaya
<p>“星期日” is used in official, "星期天" is more used in daily conversation.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T03:20:42.520Z
2015-10-19T03:20:42.520Z
Fred
<p>星期天, 星期日, 周日, 礼拜天
they are all Sunday.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-26T10:06:07.373Z
@jf328 thank you for the criticism. I will leave detailed comments in future. My consideration for this answer was as follows: 1) as you've mentioned, this is not a direct answer to OP's questions "Are both correct? **Why** is there such a variation in usage" but additional information, which is commonly supposed to be a comment. 2) Before this answer,  the "additional information" 周日 and 礼拜天 had already been mentioned in user6065's comment. Thus, I deemed this answer would better be a comment.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-26T10:16:05.653Z
@phnix this may be a good summary for learning :) while I think for later answers, it would be better to give early answers the credit if you quote/repeat their viewpoints, and then make the answer as thorough as possible. Above all, don't post a one-line answer, because it will be automatically deemed as of low quality by SE.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T06:17:21.240Z
2015-10-19T06:17:21.240Z
phnix
<p><code>星期日</code> is preferred in formal situations, but <code>星期天</code> and <code>周日</code> are more often used in daily situations.</p>

<p>By the way, <code>期</code> should be pronounced as <code>qī</code>, not <code>qí</code>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T23:39:56.947Z
really amazing how such a simple question whose answer is readily available on the www can garner so many points,令人觉得不可思议的是这样一个简单的现成的答案都在互联网上的问题 ，可以得到这么多分
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-20T01:45:27.507Z
*qí* is the correct pronunciation in 國語, while *qī* is correct in 普通話. I think  this is analogous to *skedule* vs *shedule* (schedule) for US vs UK English.
DaoWen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T19:46:51.540Z
2015-10-19T19:46:51.540Z
feilong
<p>星期日 is much better because it carries over a bit of history. it has to do with how Chinese defined the 7 days weeks
(source: <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%98%9F%E6%9C%9F" rel="nofollow">https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%98%9F%E6%9C%9F</a>)
星期天 doesn't make much sense if you try to analyze the phrase's formation, its much more colloquial.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-20T22:05:49.990Z
2015-10-20T22:05:49.990Z
Gugg
<p>both of them is correct.i am chinese,we usuallay use xingqitian.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T06:35:13.713Z
2015-10-19T06:35:13.713Z
alice
<p>Both are correct,  星期日 is more formal, and 星期天 is more colloquial.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T03:08:50.540Z
２ more possibilities：周日、礼拜天（Christian usage？）
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-19T03:03:49.073Z
2015-10-19T03:03:49.073Z
Siyi Deng
<p>both are understanding 星期天 or 星期日 both ref to sunday, nothing different, this is command sense for Chinese in world wide, no worry dude, you can use  both of it </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-20T04:25:19.200Z
Welcome to Chinese.SE. When you agree with some other answer(s) and you don't have anything new to add, you can just click the up-vote button on the left of an answer :)
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-20T00:42:19.607Z
2015-10-20T00:42:19.607Z
Bozy
<p>I am using the ChineseSkill app to learn Chinese and I learned that '<strong>Sunday</strong>' in Chinese is <strong>星期天</strong> (xīngqītiān). However, sometimes on the internet I see <strong>星期日</strong> (xīngqīrì).</p>

<p>Are both correct? Why is there such a variation in usage?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-20T04:47:47.080Z
星期日 when written, 星期天 when spoken
Steve Kuo
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-20T09:56:04.513Z
星期 is pronounced xīngqī and not xīngqí (http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E6%98%9F%E6%9C%9F). Seems like Google Translate is giving xīngqí for some reason.
MHG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-10-20T10:04:46.037Z
The [LINE Dict](http://ce.linedict.com/dict.html#/cnen/entry/8e34aff35a6741daa43cc0e0edd8d709) shows xīngqī too.
Thank you for help. I will change the original question.
Leonel.L
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-22T14:28:48.527Z
xīngqí is Taiwan pronunciation
Curiosity
<meaning><usage><difference>
Is Sunday 星期天 or 星期日?
# Is Sunday 星期天 or 星期日?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-10-19)

I am using the ChineseSkill app to learn Chinese and I learned that '**Sunday**' in Chinese is **星期天** (xīngqītiān). However, sometimes on the internet I see **星期日** (xīngqīrì).

Are both correct? Why is there such a variation in usage?

**Tags:** meaning, usage, difference
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 星期日 when written, 星期天 when spoken  
> **username_2**: 星期 is pronounced xīngqī and not xīngqí (http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php?page=worddict&wdrst=0&wdqb=%E6%98%9F%E6%9C%9F). Seems like Google Translate is giving xīngqí for some reason.  
> **username_0**: The [LINE Dict](http://ce.linedict.com/dict.html#/cnen/entry/8e34aff35a6741daa43cc0e0edd8d709) shows xīngqī too. Thank you for help. I will change the original question.  
> **username_3**: xīngqí is Taiwan pronunciation  

---

## 8 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-10-19. Score: 4

In my believe, 星期天 originates from 禮拜天 which literally means worship day. In christian view, Sunday is dedicated to worshiping God and because the week system is introduced from Western, therefore calling it "worship day" is correct and still being used in modern days. The meaning, however, is lost (this reminds me of Christmas being replaced by Xmas somehow).


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### Answer by username_5 on 2015-10-19. Score: 4

“星期日” is used in official, "星期天" is more used in daily conversation.


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### Answer by username_6 on 2015-10-19. Score: 2

星期天, 星期日, 周日, 礼拜天
they are all Sunday.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: @jf328 thank you for the criticism. I will leave detailed comments in future. My consideration for this answer was as follows: 1) as you've mentioned, this is not a direct answer to OP's questions "Are both correct? **Why** is there such a variation in usage" but additional information, which is commonly supposed to be a comment. 2) Before this answer,  the "additional information" 周日 and 礼拜天 had already been mentioned in user6065's comment. Thus, I deemed this answer would better be a comment.  
> **username_7**: @phnix this may be a good summary for learning :) while I think for later answers, it would be better to give early answers the credit if you quote/repeat their viewpoints, and then make the answer as thorough as possible. Above all, don't post a one-line answer, because it will be automatically deemed as of low quality by SE.  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2015-10-19. Score: 2

`星期日` is preferred in formal situations, but `星期天` and `周日` are more often used in daily situations.

By the way, `期` should be pronounced as `qī`, not `qí`.

> **Comments:**
> **username_9**: really amazing how such a simple question whose answer is readily available on the www can garner so many points,令人觉得不可思议的是这样一个简单的现成的答案都在互联网上的问题 ，可以得到这么多分  
> **username_10**: *qí* is the correct pronunciation in 國語, while *qī* is correct in 普通話. I think  this is analogous to *skedule* vs *shedule* (schedule) for US vs UK English.  

---

### Answer by username_11 on 2015-10-20. Score: 1

星期日 is much better because it carries over a bit of history. it has to do with how Chinese defined the 7 days weeks
(source: <https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%98%9F%E6%9C%9F>)
星期天 doesn't make much sense if you try to analyze the phrase's formation, its much more colloquial.


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### Answer by username_12 on 2015-10-19. Score: 1

both of them is correct.i am chinese,we usuallay use xingqitian.


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### Answer by username_13 on 2015-10-19. Score: 0

Both are correct, 星期日 is more formal, and 星期天 is more colloquial.

> **Comments:**
> **username_9**: ２ more possibilities：周日、礼拜天（Christian usage？）  

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### Answer by username_14 on 2015-10-20. Score: -1

both are understanding 星期天 or 星期日 both ref to sunday, nothing different, this is command sense for Chinese in world wide, no worry dude, you can use both of it

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: Welcome to Chinese.SE. When you agree with some other answer(s) and you don't have anything new to add, you can just click the up-vote button on the left of an answer :)  

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