Structure of times (basic)

An introduction to expressing time in Chinese.

On the hour

Times of the day in Chinese are formed with a number 1 to 12 (一 to 十二) followed by 点. This 点 is equivalent to o'clock in English. In China, people generally use a twelve hour clock, preceded by 上午 (a.m.) or 下午 (p.m.) if necessary.

Structure

x 点

examples

• 一点1 o'clock
• 两点2 o'clock
• 三点3 o'clock
• 十点10 o'clock
• 中午十二点 12 o'clock noon
• 上午八点8 o'clock a.m.

Note that two o'clock is 两点, not 二点. Also, 中午十二点 (12pm) is twelve noon / midday, as in English.

Half hours and quarter hours

Half and quarter hours are added after 点. A half hour is indicated with 半, and a quarter with 一刻.

Structure

x 点 半

examples

• 五点半5:30
• 下午两点半2:30 p.m.

Structure

x 点 x 刻

examples

• 七点一刻7:15
• 十一点一刻11:15

Minutes

Minutes are marked with 分 (short for 分钟). The way to include them in the time depends on whether they're minutes past or to the hour.

Past the hour

Minutes past the hour are added after 点 in the same way as half and quarter hours.

examples

• 一点四十分
• 两点十分
• 八点二十五分

To the hour

Structure

Minutes to the hour use this structure:

差 + minutes + 分 + hour + 点

examples

• 差十分两点
• 差五分三点
• 差二十分十二点

See also

• Structure of numbers
• Structure of dates
• Structure of days of the week

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 74-5)　→buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 160) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (pp. 185) →buy