<p>We don't translate &quot;day (of the week / of the month)&quot; as &quot;曰&quot; so 今天的日 is a  weird phrase</p>
<ul>
<li><p>今天是几号? = what day of the month today is</p>
</li>
<li><p>今天是星期几? = what day of the week today is</p>
</li>
<li><p>今天的日期是什麼? = what is the date today - today's date is 4-Jan-2023</p>
</li>
<li><p>今天是什麼日子? = what day today is?</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>日子 (day) here refers to a specific day, for example, &quot;Today is new year's day&quot;, or &quot;today is my birthday&quot; -- you can't omit 子 in 日子</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-04T15:35:12.367Z
2023-01-04T16:23:31.733Z
2023-01-04T16:23:31.733Z
Tang Ho
<p>the essential problem is in Chinese we don't assume &quot;day&quot; &quot;日,天&quot; for &quot;weekday&quot; under any circumstances.</p>
<p>and another minor fault here is an open question doesn't end with 吗.</p>
<p>the most literal translation of 今天星期几？ might be &quot;'What-'day (assuming Which-in-a-week) is it today?&quot;.</p>
<p>week and weekday are not a native/traditional concept in Chinese. and yes, today it seems the only valid way asking for today's weekday is 今天(是)星期几.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-07T16:53:26.407Z
2023-01-07T16:53:26.407Z
Farter Yang
<p>Without being modified by other words, the meaning of the single word &quot;日&quot; is &quot;sun(太阳)&quot;, or &quot;day(天)&quot;. The piecewise translation below shows why it is a sentence that makes no sense:</p>
<ul>
<li>&quot;今天的<strong>日</strong>是什么?&quot; - 今天的(today's)日(<strong>sun/day</strong>)是什么(is what)?.</li>
</ul>
<p>Instead, a date(日期) shall Follow the possessive phrase (&quot;today's&quot;), &quot;今天的<strong>日期</strong>是什么?&quot; - &quot;Today's date is what?&quot;, or &quot;What is today's date?&quot;</p>
<p>今天(today)是(is)星期几(what day) is the correct way to ask that in anticipation of a representative weekday as the response.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-04T19:50:33.977Z
2023-01-04T19:50:33.977Z
r13
<p><strong>Is 今天的日是什么 ever used as substitute for 今天是星期几吗, or is it grammatically incorrect/improper?</strong></p>
<p>This may seem like a stupid question, but I'm not the smartest (Hence why I haven't fully learnt Chinese particles yet。)</p>
<p>Thanks in advance to this wonderful community!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-05T00:43:50.520Z
今天的日是什么 is meaningless.
fefe
<grammar><particles>
Is 今天的日是什么 ever used as substitute for 今天是星期几吗, or is it grammatically incorrect/improper?
# Is 今天的日是什么 ever used as substitute for 今天是星期几吗, or is it grammatically incorrect/improper?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-01-04)

**Is 今天的日是什么 ever used as substitute for 今天是星期几吗, or is it grammatically incorrect/improper?**

This may seem like a stupid question, but I'm not the smartest (Hence why I haven't fully learnt Chinese particles yet。)

Thanks in advance to this wonderful community!

**Tags:** grammar, particles

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 今天的日是什么 is meaningless.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2023-01-04. Score: 2

We don't translate "day (of the week / of the month)" as "曰" so 今天的日 is a weird phrase

* 今天是几号? = what day of the month today is
* 今天是星期几? = what day of the week today is
* 今天的日期是什麼? = what is the date today - today's date is 4-Jan-2023
* 今天是什麼日子? = what day today is?

日子 (day) here refers to a specific day, for example, "Today is new year's day", or "today is my birthday" -- you can't omit 子 in 日子


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2023-01-07. Score: 1

the essential problem is in Chinese we don't assume "day" "日,天" for "weekday" under any circumstances.

and another minor fault here is an open question doesn't end with 吗.

the most literal translation of 今天星期几？ might be "'What-'day (assuming Which-in-a-week) is it today?".

week and weekday are not a native/traditional concept in Chinese. and yes, today it seems the only valid way asking for today's weekday is 今天(是)星期几.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2023-01-04. Score: 1

Without being modified by other words, the meaning of the single word "日" is "sun(太阳)", or "day(天)". The piecewise translation below shows why it is a sentence that makes no sense:

* "今天的**日**是什么?" - 今天的(today's)日(**sun/day**)是什么(is what)?.

Instead, a date(日期) shall Follow the possessive phrase ("today's"), "今天的**日期**是什么?" - "Today's date is what?", or "What is today's date?"

今天(today)是(is)星期几(what day) is the correct way to ask that in anticipation of a representative weekday as the response.


---

