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 below.

你

一会儿看我

一会儿看云

你看我时很远

你看云时很近

• 你 去 面试 时，要 穿 得 正式 一点。 When you go to the meeting, you have to dress a little more formally.
• 他们 结婚 时，只 请 了 几 个 最 好 的 朋友。 When they got married, they only invited a few of their best friends.
• 大学 毕业 时，他们 分手 了。 When they graduated, they broke up.
• 飞机 起飞 时，他 关 了 手机 和 电脑。 When the plane took off, he turned off his phone and computer.
• 你 出门 时 不 要 忘 了 带 钥匙。 When you leave, don't forget to bring your keys.
• 我们 考试 时 不 能 看 手机。 When we take a test, we're not allowed to look at our phones.

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