Structure of times (basic)

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Time in Chinese also goes "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 (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) (a.m.) or 下午 (xiàwŭ) (p.m.) if necessary.

Structure

x 点

Examples

  • 1 o'clock
  • 2 o'clock
  • 3 o'clock
  • 10 o'clock
  • 中午 十二 12 o'clock noon
  • 上午 八 8 o'clock a.m.
  • 明天 晚上 七 7 o'clock p.m. tomorrow
  • 9 月 9 号 早上 六 September 9th, 6 o'clock a.m.
  • 每 天 下午 一 Every day at 1 o'clock p.m.
  • 星期三 上午 九 Wednesday 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 and quarter hours

Half and quarter hours are added after 点 (diăn). A half hour is indicated with 半 (bàn), and a quarter with 一刻 (yīkè).

Half hours

Structure

x 点 半

Examples

  • 点 半5:30
  • 下午 两 点 半2:30 p.m.
  • 9 月 9 号 早上 六 点 半September 9th, 6:30 a.m.
  • 每 天 下午 一 点 半Every day at 1:30 p.m.
  • 星期 三 上午 九 点 半Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
  • 上午 十 点 半10:30 a.m.
  • 明天 三 点 半3:30 tomorrow
  • 昨天 七 点 半7:30 yesterday
  • 星期 五 晚上 十 点 半Friday evening at 10:30 p.m.
  • 今天 下午 四 点 半4:30 p.m. this afternoon.

quarter hours

Structure

x 点 x 刻

Examples

  • 7:15
  • 9:15
  • 十 一 11:15
  • 十 二 12:15
  • 5:15
  • 2:45
  • 1:45
  • 4:45
  • 10:45
  • 6:45

Minutes

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.

Past the hour

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

When the minute is greater than 10

Structure

x 点 x 分

Examples
  • 四 十 1:40
  • 2:10
  • 二 十 五 8:25
  • 三 十 5:30
  • 二 十 3:20
  • 十 五 7:15
  • 9:05
  • 四 十 五 2:45
  • 十 五 1:15
  • 五 十 2:50

Also, you can omit 分 in this structure when X 分>10 分. For example: 2:15 is 两点十五.

When the minute is less than 10

Structure

In Chinese, when the minute is under 10, the word 零 is often used after 点. For example, 2:07 would be said as “两点零七分。” Note that when speaking, it is common for most Chinese people take out the “分” at the end of the time.

x 点 零 x 分

Examples
  • 1:04
  • 2:09
  • 8:05
  • 5:03
  • 3:02
  • 7:03
  • 1:04
  • 2:09
  • 8:05
  • 5:03
  • 3:02
  • 7:03

To the hour

Structure

Minutes to the hour use this structure:

差 + minutes + 分 + hour + 点

Examples

  • 十 分 两 ten minutes til 2 o'clock
  • 五 分 三 three minutes til 3 o'clock
  • 二 十 分 十二 twenty minutes til 12 o'clock
  • 两 分 五 two minutes til 5 o'clock
  • 八 分 八 eight minutes til 8 o'clock
  • 二 十 分 十二 twenty minutes til 12 o'clock
  • 十 五 分 十 fifteen minutes til 10 o'clock
  • 一刻 五 fifteen minutes til 5 o'clock
  • 五 分 八 five minutes til 8:30
  • 十 分 十 ten minutes til 10:30

See also

Sources and further reading

Books