Knowing how to tell time is a fundamental skill, especially when you’re navigating different cultures or planning calls across the globe. If you’re learning Mandarin Chinese or need to communicate with people in China, understanding how to ask and tell time is essential. Let’s dive into the world of Chinese time-telling and make it easy for you to master.
First things first, let’s address a common question related to our main keyword: “What Time Is It In China?”. China operates on a single time zone, Beijing Standard Time (CST), which is UTC+8. This means regardless of where you are in China, the time will be the same. This simplifies things greatly! Now, let’s get to the specifics of expressing time in Chinese.
Understanding Time Zones in China
Although China spans a vast geographical area that would typically encompass multiple time zones, the entire country officially uses Beijing Standard Time. This unified time system simplifies national coordination and daily life. So, when you ask “what time is it in China?”, you’re asking about Beijing time, and it will be consistent across the country, from the bustling cities on the coast to the western regions.
Basic Chinese Time Vocabulary
Before we jump into phrases, let’s learn some key vocabulary. Knowing these words will be the foundation for telling time in Chinese.
- 时间 (shí jiān): Time
- 年 (nián): Year
- 月 (yuè): Month
- 日 (rì) / 号 (hào): Day (日 is more formal, 号 is more spoken)
- 星期 (xīng qī): Week
- 点 (diǎn): O’clock / Hour
- 分钟 (fēn zhōng): Minute
- 秒 (miǎo): Second
With these words in your toolkit, telling time becomes much more approachable. You’ll notice a recurring theme: numbers are crucial in expressing time in Chinese, just like in many other aspects of the language.
Days of the Week in Chinese
Learning the days of the week in Chinese is surprisingly simple once you know your numbers 1 through 6, and a special word for Sunday. The base word for “week” is 星期 (xīng qī). To say each day of the week, you simply add the corresponding number after 星期.
- 星期一 (xīng qī yī): Monday (Week one)
- 星期二 (xīng qī èr): Tuesday (Week two)
- 星期三 (xīng qī sān): Wednesday (Week three)
- 星期四 (xīng qī sì): Thursday (Week four)
- 星期五 (xīng qī wǔ): Friday (Week five)
- 星期六 (xīng qī liù): Saturday (Week six)
- 星期天 / 星期日 (xīng qī tiān / xīng qī rì): Sunday (Week day/ Week sun)
See how straightforward that is? You just need to remember 星期 and the numbers!
You might also hear 周 (zhōu) or 礼拜 (lǐ bài) used for “week” instead of 星期. They follow the same pattern: 周一, 礼拜一 for Monday, and so on.
Here are some other useful day-related words:
- 今天 (jīn tiān): Today
- 昨天 (zuó tiān): Yesterday
- 明天 (míng tiān): Tomorrow
- 前天 (qián tiān): The day before yesterday
- 后天 (hòu tiān): The day after tomorrow
Months of the Year in Chinese
Just like the days of the week, months in Chinese also follow a numerical pattern. The word for “month” is 月 (yuè). To say the months of the year, simply combine the month number with 月.
- 一月 (yī yuè): January (One month)
- 二月 (èr yuè): February (Two month)
- 三月 (sān yuè): March (Three month)
- 四月 (sì yuè): April (Four month)
- 五月 (wǔ yuè): May (Five month)
- 六月 (liù yuè): June (Six month)
- 七月 (qī yuè): July (Seven month)
- 八月 (bā yuè): August (Eight month)
- 九月 (jiǔ yuè): September (Nine month)
- 十月 (shí yuè): October (Ten month)
- 十一月 (shí yī yuè): November (Eleven month)
- 十二月 (shí èr yuè): December (Twelve month)
Easy, right? If you know your numbers from one to twelve in Chinese, you already know the months of the year!
Telling Time on the Clock in Chinese
Now, let’s get to telling time on the clock. The key word here is 点 (diǎn), which means “o’clock” or “hour”.
- 一点 (yī diǎn): 1 o’clock
- 两点 (liǎng diǎn): 2 o’clock (Note: For “two o’clock”, 两 (liǎng) is often used instead of 二 (èr))
- 三点 (sān diǎn): 3 o’clock
- … and so on.
To say times like “half past”, you use 半 (bàn), which means “half”.
- 一点半 (yī diǎn bàn): Half past one (1:30)
- 七点半 (qī diǎn bàn): Half past seven (7:30)
For times with minutes, you use 分钟 (fēn zhōng) – “minutes”.
- 十点十分钟 (shí diǎn shí fēn zhōng): Ten minutes past ten (10:10)
- 三点四十五分钟 (sān diǎn sì shí wǔ fēn zhōng): Forty-five minutes past three (3:45)
You can also use 刻 (kè), which means “quarter of an hour” or 15 minutes.
- 四点一刻 (sì diǎn yī kè): A quarter past four (4:15)
Here are some more time-related words to help you be more specific:
- 小时 (xiǎo shí): Hour (duration)
- 分钟 (fēn zhōng): Minute (duration)
- 秒 (miǎo): Second (duration)
- 早上 (zǎo shang): Morning (early morning, roughly 6am – 8am)
- 上午 (shàng wǔ): Morning (late morning, roughly 9am – 11am)
- 中午 (zhōng wǔ): Noon (around 12pm)
- 下午 (xià wǔ): Afternoon (roughly 1pm – 6pm)
- 晚上 (wǎn shang): Evening (roughly 7pm – 11pm)
- 半夜 (bàn yè): Midnight (around 12am – 1am)
Useful Chinese Phrases for Time
Now that you know the vocabulary, let’s put it into practice with some useful phrases.
- 现在几点? (xiàn zài jǐ diǎn?): What time is it now? (Directly translates to “Now what time?”)
- 现在 (xiàn zài) [time]. (xiàn zài [time] diǎn.): It is [time] now. (e.g., 现在八点. – Xiàn zài bā diǎn. – It is 8 o’clock now.)
- 你几点起床？(nǐ jǐ diǎn qǐ chuáng?): What time do you wake up?
- 我早上七点起床。(wǒ zǎo shang qī diǎn qǐ chuáng.): I wake up at 7 am.
- 我下午四点下班。(wǒ xià wǔ sì diǎn xià bān.): I finish work at 4 pm.
- 对不起，我迟到了。(duì bù qǐ, wǒ chí dào le.): Sorry, I am late.
- 请准时到达。(qǐng zhǔn shí dào dá.): Please arrive on time.
- 不要迟到！(bú yào chí dào!): Don’t be late!
- 我们的航班在下午 [time] 出发。(wǒ men de háng bān zài xià wǔ [time] chū fā.): Our flight departs at [time] pm.
- 我们的火车在上午 [time] 到达。(wǒ men de huǒ chē zài shàng wǔ [time] dào dá.): Our train arrives at [time] am.
- 什么时候是去中国的最佳时间？(shén me shí hou shì qù zhōng guó de zuì jiā shí jiān?): When is the best time to travel to China?
Conclusion
Telling time in Chinese is logical and relies heavily on numbers, making it easier than it initially seems. By mastering basic numbers and key time-related vocabulary like 点, 分钟, 星期, and 月, you can confidently discuss time in Mandarin. Remember China operates on a single time zone, simplifying time-related communication across the country. Keep practicing these phrases and words, and you’ll be setting appointments and asking “what time is it in China?” like a pro in no time!
