How to Say “Today is pay day” in Chinese
Work and study · HSK 2
"Today is pay day" in Chinese is 今天发工资 (Jīntiān fā gōngzī). 发工资 (fā gōngzī) literally means 'issue salary' and is what you'll hear in any Chinese office on the 10th or 15th of the month; the most common payday dates in Mainland China. Most salaries land directly in a bank card linked to WeChat Pay or Alipay, so coworkers often joke 红包来了 ('the red packets are here').
Primary translation
今天发工资
Jīntiān fā gōngzī
Traditional: 今天發工資
Variants by register
Formal
今天是发薪日
Jīntiān shì fāxīn rì
Casual
今天发工资啦
Jīntiān fā gōngzī la
When to use it
发工资 (fā gōngzī) literally means 'issue salary' and is what you'll hear in any Chinese office on the 10th or 15th of the month; the most common payday dates in Mainland China. Most salaries land directly in a bank card linked to WeChat Pay or Alipay, so coworkers often joke 红包来了 ('the red packets are here'). The particle 啦 turns the phrase into an excited announcement. 发薪日 is the formal HR-document term you rarely say out loud.
Example sentences
今天发工资，我请你吃饭！
Jīntiān fā gōngzī, wǒ qǐng nǐ chīfàn!
Today is pay day, my treat for dinner!
你们公司几号发工资？
Nǐmen gōngsī jǐ hào fā gōngzī?
What date does your company pay salaries?
发工资之前我都不敢花钱。
Fā gōngzī zhīqián wǒ dōu bù gǎn huā qián.
I don't dare spend money before payday.