Expressing "when" with "shi"

By now you should now how to express "when" using "的时候" (de shíhou). But there's also a slightly shorter, more formal way to do it: simply use 时 (shí) all by itself. (No 的!)

Structure

(Subject) + Verb / Adj. + 时……

As time words can appear before or after the subject, you can also place the Time + 时 (shí) after the subject.

Examples

There are two great examples of this pattern in the poem 远和近 by 顾城 (note that the provided translation is not always literal):

• 你，You,
• 一会 看 我 ，look at me one moment,
• 一会 看 云 。and at the clouds the next.
• 我 觉得 ，I feel,
• 你 看 我 时 很 远 ，when you're looking at me, you're far away,
• 你 看 云 时 很 近 。but when you’re looking at the clouds, how could we be nearer!

See also

• Before a specific time
• In the future in general
• Comparing "yihou" and "de shihou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 24-5) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 293-4) →buy