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

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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
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Time in Chinese also goes "big to small."
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Time in Chinese, just like in English, is expressed by stating the hour first, and then the minute (big to small).  
  
== On the hour ==
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== On the Hour ==
  
Times of the day in Chinese are formed with a [[Structure of numbers|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.
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The time of day in Chinese is formed with a [[Structure of numbers|number]] 1 to 12 (一 (yī) to 十二 (shí'èr)) 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 ===
 
=== Structure ===
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<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
  
x 点
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(Date and/or time of day +) x 点
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
=== Examples ===
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Sometimes people use the longer 点钟 (diǎnzhōng) instead of just (diǎn), but you're fine using the short form.
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 一点<span class="trans">1 o'clock</span>
 
* 两点<span class="trans">2 o'clock</span>
 
* 三点<span class="trans">3 o'clock</span>
 
* 十点<span class="trans">10 o'clock</span>
 
* 中午十二点<span class="trans"> 12 o'clock noon</span>
 
* 上午八点<span class="trans">8 o'clock a.m.</span>
 
* 明天晚上七点<span class="trans">7 o'clock p.m.</span>
 
* 9月9号早上六点<span class="trans">6 o'clock a.m., 9th Sep.</span>
 
* 每天下午一点<span class="trans">1 o'clock p.m. every day</span>
 
* 星期三上午九点<span class="trans">9 o'clock a.m. on Wednesday</span>
 
</div>
 
 
 
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 . A half hour is indicated with 半, and a quarter with 一刻.  
 
 
 
=== Structure ===
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
x 点 半
 
 
 
</div>
 
  
 
=== Examples ===
 
=== Examples ===
  
<div class="liju">
+
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.) This is how Chinese gets around the need for "a.m." or "p.m.": use 上午 (shàngwǔ) for times in the morning, and 下午 (xiàwǔ) for times in the afternoon.
 
 
* 五点半<span class="trans">5:30</span>
 
* 下午两点半<span class="trans">2:30 p.m.</span>
 
* 9月9号早上六点半<span class="trans">6:30 a.m., 9th Sep.</span>
 
* 每天下午一点半<span class="trans">1:30 p.m. every day</span>
 
* 星期三上午九点半<span class="trans">9:30 a.m. on Wednesday</span>
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
=== Structure ===
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
x 点 x 刻
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
=== Examples ===
 
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
* 七点一刻<span class="trans">7:15</span>
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* 九 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">jiǔ <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">9 o'clock</span>
* 十一点一刻<span class="trans">11:15</span>
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* 上午 七 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">shàngwǔ qī <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">7 o'clock a.m.</span>
 
+
* 下午 四 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">xiàwǔ sì <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">4 o'clock p.m.</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>
 +
* 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 evening</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>
 +
* 星期三 上午 九 <em>点</em><span class="pinyin">Xīngqīsān shàngwǔ jiǔ <em>diǎn</em></span><span class="trans">Wednesday at 9 o'clock a.m.</span>
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
== Minutes ==
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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 our article on [[comparing "er" and "liang"]]).
  
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.
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"''Twelve'' o'clock," however, is still 十二点 (shí'èr diǎn).
  
== Past the hour ==
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== Half Hours ==
  
Minutes ''past'' the hour are added after 点 in the same way as half and quarter hours.  
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Half hours are added after 点 (diăn) and are indicated with 半 (bàn).
  
 
=== Structure ===
 
=== Structure ===
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<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
  
x 点 x 分
+
x 点 + 半
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
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<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
* 一点四十分<span class="trans">1:40</span>
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* 五 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">wǔ <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">5:30</span>
* 两点十分<span class="trans">2:10</span>
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* 下午 两 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">xiàwǔ liǎng <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">2:30 p.m.</span>
* 八点二十五分<span class="trans">8:25</span>
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* 星期天 上午 十 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">Xīngqītiān shàngwǔ shí <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans"> Sunday at 10:30 a.m.</span>
* 五点三十分<span class="trans">5:30</span>
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* 昨天 晚上 七 <em>点 半</em><span class="pinyin">zuótiān wǎnshang qī <em>diǎn bàn</em></span><span class="trans">7:30 yesterday evening</span>
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* 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>
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
Also, you can omit 分 in this structure when X 分>10 分. For example: 2:15 is 两点十五.
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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)]].
  
== To the hour ==
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== HSK Notes ==
  
=== Structure ===
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Simple times with 点 (diăn) is on HSK1, but the usage above with 半 (bàn) is not. It is not tested until HSK3.
 
 
Minutes ''to'' the hour use this structure:
 
 
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
 
 
差 + minutes + 分 + hour + 点
 
 
 
</div>
 
 
 
=== Examples ===
 
 
 
<div class="liju">
 
 
 
* 差十分两点<span class="trans">ten minutes til 2 o'clock</span>
 
* 差五分三点<span class="trans">three minutes til 3 o'clock</span>
 
* 差二十分十二点<span class="trans">twenty minutes til 12 o'clock</span>
 
 
 
</div>
 
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 +
*[[Structure of times (advanced)]]
 
*[[Structure of numbers]]
 
*[[Structure of numbers]]
 
*[[Structure of dates]]
 
*[[Structure of dates]]
Line 134: Line 76:
 
=== Books ===
 
=== Books ===
  
* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 74-5) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy]
+
{{Source|HSK Standard Course 1|84}}
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (pp. 160) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy]
+
{{Source|HSK Standard Course 3|59}}
* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (pp. 185) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy]
+
{{Source|Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)|74-5}}
 +
{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)|160}}
 +
{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)|185}}
  
 
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
 +
{{HSK|HSK1}}{{2021-HSK|HSK1}}
 +
{{HSK|HSK3}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing time and date}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing time and date}}
 
{{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}}
 +
{{Similar|Structure of times (advanced)}} 
 
{{Similar|Structure of numbers}}   
 
{{Similar|Structure of numbers}}   
 
{{Similar|Structure of dates}}   
 
{{Similar|Structure of dates}}   

Latest revision as of 09:22, 20 April 2021

Time in Chinese, just like in English, is expressed by stating the hour first, and then the minute (big to small).

On the Hour

The time of day in Chinese is formed with a number 1 to 12 (一 (yī) to 十二 (shí'èr)) 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

(Date and/or time of day +) x 点

Sometimes people use the longer 点钟 (diǎnzhōng) instead of just 点 (diǎn), but you're fine using the short form.

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.) This is how Chinese gets around the need for "a.m." or "p.m.": use 上午 (shàngwǔ) for times in the morning, and 下午 (xiàwǔ) for times in the afternoon.

  • jiǔ diǎn9 o'clock
  • 上午 七 shàngwǔ qī diǎn7 o'clock a.m.
  • 下午 四 xiàwǔ sì diǎn4 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 evening
  • 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 our article on comparing "er" and "liang").

"Twelve o'clock," however, is still 十二点 (shí'èr diǎn).

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 wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn7:30 yesterday evening
  • 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).

HSK Notes

Simple times with 点 (diăn) is on HSK1, but the usage above with 半 (bàn) is not. It is not tested until HSK3.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books