礼拜

• Pinyin: lǐ bài
• Hanzi breakdown: 礼 = 礻 (spirit) + 乚 — ritual; 拜 = 手 (hand) × 2 — to bow with hands together

Meaning

Week; religious worship; to worship. A period of seven days, or the act of religious prayer and worship.

In everyday speech, 礼拜 means 'week' and is interchangeable with 星期 in casual contexts. 礼拜天 means Sunday. In religious contexts, it means worship service. Common among Christians and Muslims in China.

Examples

1. 我们下礼拜再讨论这个问题。 Let's discuss this issue next week.
2. 他每个礼拜天都去教堂做礼拜。 He goes to church for worship every Sunday.
3. 这个礼拜我特别忙，没有时间休息。 I've been especially busy this week with no time to rest.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, religion, scheduling

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 下礼拜见！(See you next week!)
• 礼拜六你有空吗？(Are you free on Saturday?)

Don't Say

• 说'礼拜一到礼拜日'在正式场合 (Don't use 礼拜 in formal documents — use 星期 or 周; 礼拜 is more colloquial)

Origin & History

礼 (ritual, ceremony) + 拜 (to bow, to worship). Originally meant religious worship, later extended to mean a week.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal