Difference between revisions of "Structure of times (basic)"

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* 中午 十二 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">zhōngwǔ shí'èr <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans"> 12 o'clock noon</span>
 
* 中午 十二 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">zhōngwǔ shí'èr <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans"> 12 o'clock noon</span>
 
* 上午 八 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">shàngwǔ bā <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">8 o'clock a.m.</span>
 
* 上午 八 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">shàngwǔ bā <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">8 o'clock a.m.</span>
* 明天 晚上 七 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">míngtiān wǎnshàng qī <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">7 o'clock p.m. tomorrow</span>
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* 明天 晚上 七 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">míngtiān wǎnshang qī <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">7 o'clock p.m. tomorrow</span>
 
* 9 月 9 号 早上 六 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">jiǔ yuè jiǔ hào zǎoshang liù <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">September 9th, 6 o'clock a.m.</span>
 
* 9 月 9 号 早上 六 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">jiǔ yuè jiǔ hào zǎoshang liù <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">September 9th, 6 o'clock a.m.</span>
 
* 每 天 下午 一 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">měitiān xiàwǔ yī <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">Every day at 1 o'clock p.m.</span>
 
* 每 天 下午 一 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">měitiān xiàwǔ yī <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">Every day at 1 o'clock p.m.</span>
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* 明天 三 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">míngtiān sān <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">3:30 tomorrow</span>
 
* 明天 三 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">míngtiān sān <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">3:30 tomorrow</span>
 
* 昨天 七 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">zuótiān qī <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">7:30 yesterday</span>
 
* 昨天 七 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">zuótiān qī <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">7:30 yesterday</span>
* 星期 五 晚上 十 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">xīngqīwǔ wǎnshàng shí <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">Friday evening at 10:30 p.m.</span>
+
* 星期 五 晚上 十 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">xīngqīwǔ wǎnshang shí <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">Friday evening at 10:30 p.m.</span>
 
* 今天 下午 四 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">jīntiān xiàwǔ sì <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">4:30 p.m. this afternoon.</span>
 
* 今天 下午 四 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">jīntiān xiàwǔ sì <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">4:30 p.m. this afternoon.</span>
  

Revision as of 02:28, 17 August 2015

Time in Chinese, just like in English, is expressed by stating the hour first then the minute.

On the hour

The time of day in Chinese is formed with a number 1 to 12 (一 (yī) to 十二 (shíèr)) followed by 点 (diăn). This 点 (diăn) is equivalent to o'clock in English. In China, people generally use a twelve hour clock, preceded by 上午 (shàngwŭ) for "a.m." or 下午 (xiàwŭ) for "p.m." if necessary.

Structure

x 点

Examples

  • diǎn1 o'clock
  • liǎng diǎn2 o'clock
  • sān diǎn3 o'clock
  • shí diǎn10 o'clock
  • 中午 十二 zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn 12 o'clock noon
  • 上午 八 shàngwǔ bā diǎn8 o'clock a.m.
  • 明天 晚上 七 míngtiān wǎnshang qī diǎn7 o'clock p.m. tomorrow
  • 9 月 9 号 早上 六 jiǔ yuè jiǔ hào zǎoshang liù diǎnSeptember 9th, 6 o'clock a.m.
  • 每 天 下午 一 měitiān xiàwǔ yī diǎnEvery day at 1 o'clock p.m.
  • 星期三 上午 九 xīngqīsān shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎnWednesday at 9 o'clock a.m.

Note that two o'clock is 两点 (liǎng diǎn), not 二点 (èr diǎn). (For more information on when to use 两 (liǎng) vs. 二 (èr), see "Er" and "liang").

Half hours

Half hours are added after 点 (diăn) and are indicated with 半 (bàn).

Structure

x 点 半

Examples

  • 点 半diǎn bàn5:30
  • 下午 两 点 半xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn bàn2:30 p.m.
  • 9 月 9 号 早上 六 点 半jiǔ yuè jiǔ hào zǎoshang liù diǎn bànSeptember 9th, 6:30 a.m.
  • 每 天 下午 一 点 半měitiān xiàwǔ yī diǎn bànEvery day at 1:30 p.m.
  • 星期 三 上午 九 点 半xīngqīsān shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn bànWednesday at 9:30 a.m.
  • 上午 十 点 半shàngwǔ shí diǎn bàn10:30 a.m.
  • 明天 三 点 半míngtiān sān diǎn bàn3:30 tomorrow
  • 昨天 七 点 半zuótiān qī diǎn bàn7:30 yesterday
  • 星期 五 晚上 十 点 半xīngqīwǔ wǎnshang shí diǎn bànFriday evening at 10:30 p.m.
  • 今天 下午 四 点 半jīntiān xiàwǔ sì diǎn bàn4:30 p.m. this afternoon.

Quarter hours

In Chinese, quarter hours are only expressed on the 1st quarter x:15, and the third quarter x:45. Like half hours, they also come after the word 点 (diăn). We use the word 刻 (kè) to express a quarter hour.

Structure

x 点 y 刻

Examples

  • diǎn 7:15
  • jiǔ diǎn 9:15
  • 十 一 shíyī diǎn 11:15
  • 十 二 shí'èr diǎn 12:15
  • diǎn 5:15
  • liǎng diǎn sān 2:45
  • diǎn sān 1:45
  • diǎn sān 4:45
  • shí diǎn sān 10:45
  • liù diǎn sān 6:45

Minutes past the hour

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

Minutes past the hour are expressed after 点 (diǎn) in the same way as half and quarter hours.

When the minute is greater than 10

Structure

x 点 y 分

Examples

  • 四 十 diǎn sìshí fēn1:40
  • liǎng diǎn shí fēn2:10
  • 二 十 五 diǎn èrshíwǔ fēn8:25
  • 三 十 diǎn sānshí fēn5:30
  • 二 十 sān diǎn èrshí fēn3:20
  • 十 五 diǎn shíwǔ fēn7:15
  • jiǔ diǎnfēn9:05
  • 四 十 五 liǎng diǎn sìshíwǔ fēn 2:45
  • 十 五 diǎn shíwǔ fēn 1:15
  • 五 十 liǎng diǎn wǔshí fēn2:50

When the minute is less than 10

Structure

In Chinese, when the minute is under 10, the word 零 (líng) is often used after 点 (diǎn). For example, 2:07 would be said as “两点零七分” (liǎng diǎn líng qī fēn). However, note that when speaking, it is very common for most Chinese people take out the “分 (fēn)” at the end of the time.

x 点 零 y 分

Examples

  • diǎn língfēn1:04
  • liǎng diǎn líng jiǔ fēn2:09
  • diǎn língfēn8:05
  • diǎn líng sān fēn5:03
  • sān diǎn líng èr fēn3:02
  • diǎn líng sān fēn7:03
  • diǎn líng1:04
  • liǎng diǎn líng jiǔ2:09
  • diǎn líng8:05
  • diǎn líng sān5:03
  • sān diǎn líng èr3:02
  • diǎn líng sān7:03

To the hour

When expressing how many minutes it will be till the next full hour, you put 差 (chā) in front of the time expression.

Structure

Minutes to the hour use this structure:

差 + minutes + 分 + hour + 点

Examples

  • 十 分 两 chā shífēn liǎng diǎnten minutes til 2 o'clock
  • 五 分 三 chā wǔ fēn sān diǎnthree minutes til 3 o'clock
  • 一 分 十二 chā yī fēn shí'èr diǎnone minute til 12 o'clock
  • 两 分 五 chā liǎng fēn wǔ diǎntwo minutes til 5 o'clock
  • 八 分 八 chā bā fēn bā diǎneight minutes til 8 o'clock
  • 二 十 分 十二 chā èrshí fēn shí'èr diǎntwenty minutes til 12 o'clock
  • 十 五 分 十 chā shíwǔ fēn shí diǎnfifteen minutes til 10 o'clock
  • 一刻 五 chā yīkè wǔ diǎnfifteen minutes til 5 o'clock
  • 五 分 八 chā wǔ fēn bā diǎn bànfive minutes til 8:30
  • 十 分 十 chā shífēn shí diǎnbànten minutes til 10:30

See also

Sources and further reading

Books