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 去 面试 时，要 穿 得 正式 一点。 when
• 他们 结婚 时，只 请 了 几 个 最 好 的 朋友。 when
• 大学 毕业 时，他们 分手 了。 when
• 飞机 起飞 时，他 关 了 手机 和 电脑。 when
• 你 出门 时 不 要 忘 了 带 钥匙。 when
• 我们 考试 时 不 能 看 手机。 when

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