Expressing Time
In Mandarin, time is expressed using the 24-hour clock system. Here’s how you can tell time in Chinese:
Basic Time Vocabulary:
- 小时 (xiǎoshí) → hour
- 分钟 (fēnzhōng) → minute
- 秒钟 (miǎozhōng) → second
Key Points:
- The word 点 (diǎn) refers to the hour, and 分 (fēn) refers to minutes.
- For minutes past the hour, you can use 点 + number for the hour and 分 + number for the minutes.
- 几点? (jǐ diǎn?) → What time is it?
- For times like 5:30, use 半 (bàn) to indicate “half past” or “30 minutes past.”
- Example: 五点半 (wǔ diǎn bàn) → 5:30
- For times like 15 minutes past the hour, 一刻 (yī kè) is used.
- Example: 九点一刻 (jiǔ diǎn yī kè) → 9:15 (a quarter past 9)
- Minutes past the hour can be expressed directly by saying the time and 分.
- Example: 七点十五分 (qī diǎn shíwǔ fēn) → 7:15
Examples of time:
- 几点 (jǐ diǎn) → What time is it?
- 现在是三点 (xiànzài shì sān diǎn) → It is 3:00 now.
- 五点半 (wǔ diǎn bàn) → 5:30 (half past 5)
- 七点十五分 (qī diǎn shíwǔ fēn) → 7:15
- 九点一刻 (jiǔ diǎn yī kè) → 9:15 (a quarter past 9)
Expressing Dates
In Chinese, dates are generally expressed in the following order: Year + Month + Day. Here’s the pattern:
- 年 (nián) → Year
- 月 (yuè) → Month
- 日 (rì) → Day (also 号 (hào) is used in casual speech, especially for days of the month)
For example:
- 今天是2025年4月5日 (jīntiān shì 2025 nián 4 yuè 5 rì) → Today is April 5th, 2025.
- 我生日是10月10号 (wǒ shēngrì shì 10 yuè 10 hào) → My birthday is October 10th.
You can also say the month and day together:
- 1月1号 (yī yuè yī hào) → January 1st
- 5月20号 (wǔ yuè èrshí hào) → May 20th
Asking About Time and Dates
To ask about the time:
- 现在几点？ (xiànzài jǐ diǎn?) → What time is it now?
To ask about the date:
- 今天几号？ (jīntiān jǐ hào?) → What’s the date today? (Casual)
- 今天是几月几号？ (jīntiān shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào?) → What’s today’s date? (More formal)
For days of the week, we use the following words:
- 星期一 (xīngqī yī) → Monday
- 星期二 (xīngqī èr) → Tuesday
- 星期三 (xīngqī sān) → Wednesday
- 星期四 (xīngqī sì) → Thursday
- 星期五 (xīngqī wǔ) → Friday
- 星期六 (xīngqī liù) → Saturday
- 星期天 (xīngqī tiān) → Sunday
To say “What day is it today?”:
- 今天星期几？ (jīntiān xīngqī jǐ?) → What day is it today?
Expressing Parts of the Day
早上 (zǎo shàng) → “Morning”
This term refers to the early part of the day, typically from sunrise until around 9:00 AM. In Mandarin, 早上 is often used when talking about waking up or starting your day.
Example:
- 我早上七点起床。 (Wǒ zǎo shàng qī diǎn qǐ chuáng) → “I get up at 7:00 in the morning.”
- 起床 (qǐ chuáng) → “to get up” or “to wake up” (from bed).
It’s important to note that 起床 refers specifically to getting out of bed, not just waking up, which is 醒 (xǐng).
中午 (zhōng wǔ) → “Noon”
This is the time around midday, generally from about 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. In Chinese culture, 中午 is the time for lunch, often a big meal.
Example:
- 我中午十二点吃饭。 (Wǒ zhōng wǔ shí’èr diǎn chī fàn) → “I eat lunch at 12:00 noon.”
- 吃饭 (chī fàn) → “to eat (food).”
The term 饭 (fàn) is generally used for “rice” in other contexts, but it commonly refers to “food” or “a meal” when paired with 吃 (chī).
下午 (xià wǔ) → “Afternoon”
The afternoon usually refers to the time between 1:00 PM and about 6:00 PM. People often work, study, or run errands during this time.
Example:
- 下午三点我有课。 (Xià wǔ sān diǎn wǒ yǒu kè) → “I have class at 3:00 in the afternoon.”
- 课 (kè) → “class” or “lesson.”
This word is often used when talking about school or work meetings and is the opposite of “play” (玩, wán).
晚上 (wǎn shàng) → “Evening”
The evening refers to the time from about 6:00 PM until bedtime. It’s often associated with relaxing, eating dinner, or social activities.
Example:
- 我晚上七点吃晚餐。 (Wǒ wǎn shàng qī diǎn chī wǎn cān) → “I eat dinner at 7:00 in the evening.”
- 晚餐 (wǎn cān) → “dinner.”
晚 (wǎn) means “late” or “evening,” and 餐 (cān) means “meal.” Together, 晚餐 refers to the evening meal, which is the equivalent of dinner.
午夜 (wǔ yè) → “Midnight”
Midnight is the point where the day changes to the next day, around 12:00 AM. It is typically associated with the latest time to be awake.
Example:
- 我午夜十二点睡觉。 (Wǒ wǔ yè shí’èr diǎn shuì jiào) → “I go to sleep at midnight.”
- 睡觉 (shuì jiào) → “to sleep” or “to go to bed.”
睡觉 refers to the act of sleeping, while 觉 (jiào) specifically refers to sleep. 睡觉 is a common phrase to say that you are going to bed or going to sleep.
Going somewhere
- What time are you going to work today?
(你今天几点去工作？)
This sentence asks about the time when someone is going to work. The pattern for this type of question is [subject] + [time expression] + [verb] + [object].- Example: “I go to work at 8:00” would be: 我八点去工作 (Wǒ bā diǎn qù gōngzuò).
- I get up at 6 o’clock every day.
(我每天六点起床。)
To say “I get up at 6 o’clock every day,” we use the time expression 六点 (liù diǎn) for “6:00,” followed by the verb 起床 (qǐchuáng), which means “to get up.”
The structure is: [subject] + [time expression] + [verb].- Example: “I get up at 7:00 every day” would be: 我每天七点起床 (Wǒ měitiān qī diǎn qǐchuáng).
Vocabulary
| Chinese | Pinyin | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today |
| 是 | shì | is, to be |
| 点 | diǎn | o’clock, hour |
| 几 | jǐ | how many, what (in questions) |
| 现在 | xiàn zài | now |
| 五 | wǔ | five |
| 七 | qī | seven |
| 十 | shí | ten |
| 一 | yī | one |
| 半 | bàn | half |
| 十五 | shí wǔ | fifteen |
| 分 | fēn | minute |
| 号 | hào | day (of the month) |
| 月 | yuè | month |
| 年 | nián | year |
| 星期 | xīng qī | week |
| 一 | yī | one (used for Monday) |
| 二 | èr | two (used for Tuesday) |
| 三 | sān | three (used for Wednesday) |
| 四 | sì | four (used for Thursday) |
| 五 | wǔ | five (used for Friday) |
| 六 | liù | six (used for Saturday) |
| 天 | tiān | day, sky (used for Sunday) |
| 早上 | zǎo shàng | morning |
| 中午 | zhōng wǔ | noon |
| 下午 | xià wǔ | afternoon |
| 晚上 | wǎn shàng | evening |
| 午夜 | wǔ yè | midnight |
| 起床 | qǐ chuáng | to get up |
| 吃饭 | chī fàn | to eat a meal |
| 课 | kè | class, lesson |
| 晚餐 | wǎn cān | dinner (evening meal) |
| 睡觉 | shuì jiào | to sleep, go to bed |
| 去 | qù | to go |