<p>If I was asked 今天几号? , most likely I will just answer 20号 or 今天20号. I would assume someone is expecting a brief answer since he'd asked briefly. You can also answer 今天是八月二十号, just like your first dialogue.  </p>

<p>If they are also unsure about the month, they might come back with something like, 这是几月了？ or 这个月是几月？. I might just answer: 8月 or 这个月是8月.</p>

<p>If they want to ask the exact month and date of today, they might put "今天是几月几号？". The answer would be "今天是8月20号？" or just "8月20号？".</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T12:17:25.347Z
2018-08-20T12:17:25.347Z
dan
<p>Yes, it totally makes sense to answer only the day since the question is asking for the day only instead of month and day.</p>

<p>If one is asking for month it would be something like: 今天是几月几号？</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T10:28:53.707Z
The date (month + day) is asked without month (from book 汉语会话301句) just 今天几号? Can you give any reference about usage of "今天是几月几号？"?
Ivan Gerasimenko
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-21T04:27:05.183Z
Sorry because I don't have any reference for "今天是几月几号？" as I'm just stating an example of how would I ask if I wanna know the month as we all will assume if I'm asking “今天是几号？”, I would be very clear about the current month. I'm a native Chinese speaker by the way.
Khahoe Tan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T09:11:05.137Z
2018-08-20T09:11:05.137Z
Khahoe Tan
<p>Responding only the day is based on you both are very clear about the current month. Even in English we can here something like:
"How is Danny?"
"Fine."
Based on we all know who we are talking about.
But if you drive a time machine to a new world and has no idea what the month is, you can then ask
"Sorry, what month are we talking?"</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T09:24:33.790Z
2018-08-20T09:24:33.790Z
fusu
<p>Is it ok to answer only the day of the month to the question "今天几号?"?</p>

<p>First dialog:</p>

<p>-- 今天几号?</p>

<p>-- 今天是八月二十号. (it is OK, common phrase)</p>

<p>Second dialog:</p>

<p>-- 今天几号?</p>

<p>-- 今天是二十号. <strong>(is it Ok? Why not?)</strong></p>

<p>If the second dialog is not grammaticaly correct, how can I ask for a day of the month?</p>

<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> </p>

<p>It is ok to use month when asking 你的生日是几月几号? But the date (month + day) is asked without month (from book 汉语会话301句) just 今天几号?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T09:51:53.323Z
It in fact is *uncommon* to include the month when answering "what day is it today".
jf328
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T09:58:13.227Z
grammar topic:名词谓语句, nominal predicate sentence (discussed at this site before) also e.g. p.12 of http://www.cengageasia.com/share/cltsamples/grammar/files/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-20T10:15:52.780Z
@jf328 , yes. It is ok to use month when asking 你的生日是几月几号? But the date is asked without month (from book 汉语会话301句) just 今天几号?
Ivan Gerasimenko
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-03T02:43:01.937Z
You can refer my answer https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/40484/25995 for more info.
Vincent
<grammar>
Is it ok to answer only the day of the month to the question "今天几号?"?
# Is it ok to answer only the day of the month to the question "今天几号?"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-08-20)

Is it ok to answer only the day of the month to the question "今天几号?"?

First dialog:

-- 今天几号?

-- 今天是八月二十号. (it is OK, common phrase)

Second dialog:

-- 今天几号?

-- 今天是二十号. **(is it Ok? Why not?)**

If the second dialog is not grammaticaly correct, how can I ask for a day of the month?

**UPDATE:**

It is ok to use month when asking 你的生日是几月几号? But the date (month + day) is asked without month (from book 汉语会话301句) just 今天几号?

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It in fact is *uncommon* to include the month when answering "what day is it today".  
> **username_2**: grammar topic:名词谓语句, nominal predicate sentence (discussed at this site before) also e.g. p.12 of http://www.cengageasia.com/share/cltsamples/grammar/files/assets/common/downloads/publication.pdf  
> **username_0**: @username_1 , yes. It is ok to use month when asking 你的生日是几月几号? But the date is asked without month (from book 汉语会话301句) just 今天几号?  
> **username_3**: You can refer my answer https://chinese.stackexchange.com/a/40484/25995 for more info.  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-08-20. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

If I was asked 今天几号? , most likely I will just answer 20号 or 今天20号. I would assume someone is expecting a brief answer since he'd asked briefly. You can also answer 今天是八月二十号, just like your first dialogue.

If they are also unsure about the month, they might come back with something like, 这是几月了？ or 这个月是几月？. I might just answer: 8月 or 这个月是8月.

If they want to ask the exact month and date of today, they might put "今天是几月几号？". The answer would be "今天是8月20号？" or just "8月20号？".


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### Answer by username_5 on 2018-08-20. Score: 1

Yes, it totally makes sense to answer only the day since the question is asking for the day only instead of month and day.

If one is asking for month it would be something like: 今天是几月几号？

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: The date (month + day) is asked without month (from book 汉语会话301句) just 今天几号? Can you give any reference about usage of "今天是几月几号？"?  
> **username_5**: Sorry because I don't have any reference for "今天是几月几号？" as I'm just stating an example of how would I ask if I wanna know the month as we all will assume if I'm asking “今天是几号？”, I would be very clear about the current month. I'm a native Chinese speaker by the way.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2018-08-20. Score: 0

Responding only the day is based on you both are very clear about the current month. Even in English we can here something like:
"How is Danny?"
"Fine."
Based on we all know who we are talking about.
But if you drive a time machine to a new world and has no idea what the month is, you can then ask
"Sorry, what month are we talking?"


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