明天
tomorrow
míngtiān
What does 明天 mean?
明天 (míngtiān) means 'tomorrow' — literally 'bright day' (明 'bright/next' + 天 'day'). Like other Chinese time words, it goes before the verb or at the front of the sentence: 明天我去北京 or 我明天去北京. Because Chinese verbs do not conjugate, 明天 alone is enough to mark the future: 明天下雨 'It will rain tomorrow' needs no auxiliary verb. Common pairings: 明天早上 'tomorrow morning,' 明天晚上 'tomorrow night,' 明天见! 'See you tomorrow!' (a standard goodbye). The more formal/written equivalent is 明日 (míng rì), used in news headlines and announcements. The colloquial Beijing form 明儿 (míngr) also exists.
Character breakdown
bright; next; clear
day; sky
Memory hook: 明 is 日 'sun' + 月 'moon' — both sources of light, so 明 = 'bright.' 'The bright day to come' = tomorrow.
Example sentences
明天见！
Míngtiān jiàn!
See you tomorrow!
spoken
明天是星期六。
Míngtiān shì xīngqī liù.
Tomorrow is Saturday.
neutral
我明天去北京。
Wǒ míngtiān qù Běijīng.
I'm going to Beijing tomorrow.
neutral
明天下午你有空吗？
Míngtiān xiàwǔ nǐ yǒu kòng ma?
Are you free tomorrow afternoon?
spoken
Common phrases with 明天
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
明天 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
Formal/written form, used in news, signs, and literary writing ('明日开业' opens tomorrow). 明天 is what people say in conversation.
Beijing colloquial form, friendly and casual ('明儿见!'). Standard Mandarin everywhere else uses 明天.
Don't confuse 明天 with
今天 is 'today,' 明天 is 'tomorrow.' Same suffix 天 'day,' different first character. Pair them: 今天 → 明天.
后天 is 'the day after tomorrow' (literally 'after-day'). Don't substitute 明天 for plans two days out.