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

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</div>
 
</div>
  
== Quarter hours ==
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As a beginner, that should be all you need. If you've mastered all of these structures and want to get a little more advanced, see [[structure of times (advanced)]].
 
 
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 "quarter hour."
 
 
 
=== Structure ===
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
x 点 y 刻
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
=== Examples ===
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 九 <em>点</em> 一 <em>刻</em><span class="pinyin">jiǔ <em>diǎn</em> yī <em>kè</em></span> <span class="trans">9:15</span>
 
* 七 <em>点</em> 一 <em>刻</em><span class="pinyin">qī <em>diǎn</em> yī <em>kè</em></span> <span class="trans">7:15</span>
 
* 十 二 <em>点</em> 一 <em>刻</em><span class="pinyin">shí'èr <em>diǎn</em> yī <em>kè</em></span> <span class="trans">12:15</span>
 
* 一 <em>点</em> 三 <em>刻</em><span class="pinyin">yī <em>diǎn</em> sān <em>kè</em></span> <span class="trans">1:45</span>
 
* 六 <em>点</em> 三 <em>刻</em><span class="pinyin">liù <em>diǎn</em> sān <em>kè</em></span> <span class="trans">6:45</span>
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
You can totally just use 十五分 (shí-wǔ fēn) for "15 minutes (past)" or 四十五分 (sìshí-wǔ fēn) for "45 minutes (past)" if you're lazy, though. It also works!
 
 
 
== 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 ===
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
x 点 y 分
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
===Examples ===
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 一 <em>点</em> 四 十 <em>分</em><span class="pinyin">yī <em>diǎn</em> sìshí <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">1:40</span>
 
* 两 <em>点</em> 十 <em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">liǎng <em>diǎn</em> shí <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">2:10</span>
 
* 三 <em>点</em> 二 十 <em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">sān <em>diǎn</em> èrshí <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">3:20</span>
 
* 七 <em>点</em> 十 五 <em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">qī <em>diǎn</em> shíwǔ <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">7:15</span>
 
* 九 <em>点</em> 五 十<em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">jiǔ <em>diǎn</em> wǔshí <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">9:50</span>
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
== 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.
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
x 点 零 y 分
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
=== Examples ===
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 两 <em>点</em> <em>零</em> 九<em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">liǎng <em>diǎn</em> <em>líng</em> jiǔ <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">2:09</span>
 
* 三 <em>点</em> <em>零</em> 八 <em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">sān <em>diǎn</em> <em>líng</em> bā <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">3:08</span>
 
* 五 <em>点</em> <em>零</em> 三 <em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">wǔ <em>diǎn</em> <em>líng</em> sān <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">5:03</span>
 
* 七 <em>点</em> <em>零</em> 一 <em>分</em><span class="pinyin">qī <em>diǎn</em> <em>líng</em> yī <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">7:01</span>
 
* 八 <em>点</em> <em>零</em> 五 <em>分</em> <span class="pinyin">bā <em>diǎn</em> <em>líng</em> wǔ <em>fēn</em></span><span class="trans">8:05</span>
 
</div>
 
 
 
== 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:
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
差 + minutes + 分 + hour + 点
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
=== Examples ===
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* <em>差</em> 十 分 两 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin"><Em>chā</em> shífēn liǎng <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">ten minutes til 2 o'clock</span>
 
* <em>差</em> 五 分 三 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin"><Em>chā</em> wǔ fēn sān <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">three minutes til 3 o'clock</span>
 
* <em>差</em> 一 分 十二 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin"><Em>chā</em>  yī fēn shí'èr <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">one minute til 12 o'clock</span>
 
* <em>差</em> 五 分 八 <em>点</em> 半<span class="pinyin"><Em>chā</em> wǔ fēn bā <em>diǎn</em> bàn</span><span class="trans">five minutes til 8:30</span>
 
* <em>差</em> 两 分 十 <em>点</em>半<span class="pinyin"><Em>chā</em> liǎngfēn shí <em>diǎn</em>bàn</span><span class="trans">two minutes til 10:30</span>
 
 
 
</div>
 
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 +
*[[Structure of times (advanced)]]
 
*[[Structure of numbers]]
 
*[[Structure of numbers]]
 
*[[Structure of dates]]
 
*[[Structure of dates]]
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{{Basic Grammar|点|A1|Number + 点(钟)|现在 <em>十一点</em> 。|grammar point|ASGN6BBU}}
 
{{Basic Grammar|点|A1|Number + 点(钟)|现在 <em>十一点</em> 。|grammar point|ASGN6BBU}}
 
{{Rel char|点钟}}
 
{{Rel char|点钟}}
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{{Similar|Structure of times (advanced)}} 
 
{{Similar|Structure of numbers}}   
 
{{Similar|Structure of numbers}}   
 
{{Similar|Structure of dates}}   
 
{{Similar|Structure of dates}}   

Revision as of 10:11, 18 January 2016

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." when necessary.

Structure

x 点

Examples

If you want to include more specific information, start with the day or date, followed by the general time of day, with the exact clock time last. (This is the big-to-small pattern.)

  • jiǔ diǎn9 o'clock
  • 上午 七 shàngwǔ qī diǎn7 o'clock a.m.
  • 下午 四 xiàwǔ sì diǎn2 o'clock p.m.
  • 中午 十二 zhōngwǔ shí'èr diǎn 12 o'clock noon
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 星期 天 上午 十 点 半xīngqītiān shàngwǔ shí diǎn bàn Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
  • 昨天 晚上 七 点 半zuótiān qī diǎn bàn7:30 yesterday
  • 今天 下午 四 点 半jīntiān xiàwǔ sì diǎn bàn4:30 p.m. this afternoon.

As a beginner, that should be all you need. If you've mastered all of these structures and want to get a little more advanced, see structure of times (advanced).

See also

Sources and further reading

Books