今天
jīn tiān
Today
今天 (jīntiān) is the standard and most common way to say "today" in Mandarin Chinese. It's a versatile word used in all contexts, from casual conversations to formal announcements, to refer to the current day.
When to use it
Neutral and universally applicable. You can combine 今天 with other time words like 早上 (morning), 下午 (afternoon), or 晚上 (evening) to specify parts of the day. For "tomorrow" use 明天 (míngtiān) and for "yesterday" use 昨天 (zuótiān).
How to pronounce it
Sounds roughly like "JEEN-tee-en." Both syllables, 金 (jīn) and 天 (tiān), are pronounced with a high-level tone.
Other ways to say it
- 今天早上jīn tiān zǎo shàngthis morning
- 今天下午jīn tiān xià wǔthis afternoon
- 今天晚上jīn tiān wǎn shàngtonight
Examples
你今天有空吗？
nǐ jīn tiān yǒu kōng ma ？
Are you free today?
我们今天去公园吧。
wǒ men jīn tiān qù gōng yuán ba 。
Let's go to the park today.
今天天气很好。
jīn tiān tiān qì hěn hǎo 。
The weather is very good today.
Pro tip: 今天 can be placed either at the beginning of a sentence or after the subject, and both are grammatically correct and common. For example, "今天我很高兴" and "我今天很高兴" both mean "I am very happy today."
Related phrases
和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
Want to speak Chinese for real?
Start a free lesson with a native teacher →
Start a free lesson with a native teacher →