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.

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 ,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 ,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 ,他们 分手 了。 When they graduated, they broke up.
  • 飞机 起飞 ,他 关 了 手机 和 电脑。 When the plane took off, he turned off his phone and computer.
  • 你 出门 不 要 忘 了 带 钥匙。 When you leave, don't forget to bring your keys.
  • 我们 考试 不 能 看 手机。 When we take a test, we're not allowed to look at our phones.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books