Mastering how to tell time in Chinese is an incredibly practical and surprisingly simple skill to add to your language toolkit.
QUICK TIP – The Chinese word for “time” is 时间 shí jiān.
That’s your first essential word! But before we delve deeper, it’s crucial to have a grasp of Chinese numbers.
Numbers are fundamental here, more than you might initially think!
Once you’ve memorized these, you’ll unlock a wealth of possibilities in expressing time, as we’ll soon demonstrate clearly!
So, let’s solidify those numbers:
Let’s quickly recap those numbers for you:
| Number | Hanzi | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 / 〇 | Líng |
| 1 | 一 | Yī |
| 2 | 二 | Èr |
| 3 | 三 | Sān |
| 4 | 四 | Sì |
| 5 | 五 | Wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | Liù |
| 7 | 七 | Qī |
| 8 | 八 | Bā |
| 9 | 九 | Jiǔ |
| 10 | 十 | Shí |
| 11 | 十一 | Shí Yī |
| 12 | 十二 | Shí Èr |
Now, let’s jump into the world of telling time in Chinese…
Telling Time in Mandarin – Days of the Week
Telling Time in Mandarin – Months of the Year
Telling Time in Mandarin – The Clock
Telling Time in Mandarin – Useful Phrases and Vocabulary
Telling Time in Mandarin – Quick Quiz
Days of the Week in Chinese: Xīngqī and Numbers
Once you’ve committed those numbers to memory, learning the days of the week becomes remarkably straightforward.
You won’t need to memorize seven different words; instead, you just need to learn one key word and attach a number to it!
星期一 xīngqī yī (Monday)
星期二 xīngqī èr (Tuesday)
星期三 xīngqī sān (Wednesday)
星期四 xīngqī sì (Thursday)
星期五 xīngqī wŭ (Friday)
星期六 xīngqī liù (Saturday)
星期天 xīngqī tiān (Sunday)
Pretty simple, wouldn’t you agree?
The crucial word here is 星期 xīngqī, which means “week”.
Following this, you simply add the corresponding number, starting with one for Monday and going up to six for Saturday.
Keep in mind that Sunday is the exception; instead of a number, 天 tiān (day) is used. This is the only deviation from the number rule.
Variations of 星期 xīngqī include 周 zhōu and 礼拜 lǐbài.
Again, you simply append the number to the end, so Monday can also be expressed as:
- 周一 (zhōu yī)
- 星期一 (xīngqī yī)
- 礼拜一 (lǐbài yī)
Here’s some additional useful vocabulary related to time in Chinese:
-
今天 jīntiān (Today)
-
昨天 zuótiān (Yesterday)
-
明天 míngtiān (Tomorrow)
-
前天 qián tiān (The day before yesterday)
-
后天 hòu tiān (The day after tomorrow)
-
大前天 dà qián tiān (Three days ago)
-
大后天 dà hòu tiān (Three days after tomorrow)
Notice how this vocabulary covers a range of days, very useful indeed!
[
Essential Books for Learning Chinese in 2023 📚
Looking for the best resources to learn Chinese? Discover our curated list of top-rated books to improve your Mandarin listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills effectively.
](https://ltl-beihai.com/best-books-for-learning-chinese/)
Months of the Year in Chinese: Yuè and Numbers 1-12
The pattern of using numbers continues when learning the months of the year.
Do you remember numbers 1 through 12 in Chinese? (Hopefully, you do after getting this far)…
If so, congratulations! You already know the months in Chinese without even realizing it.
Similar to days of the week, months follow the same straightforward structure. You only need to learn one word:
月 yuè (Month)
So, can you guess how to say April in Chinese?
sì yuè 四月 – This literally translates to “fourth month.” It’s incredibly simple!
Here is the complete list of months of the year in Chinese:
yīyuè 一月 (January)
èryuè 二月 (February)
sānyuè 三月 (March)
sìyuè 四月 (April)
wŭyuè 五月 (May)
liùyuè 六月 (June)
qīyuè 七月 (July)
bāyuè 八月 (August)
jiŭyuè 九月 (September)
shíyuè 十月 (October)
shíyīyuè 十一月 (November)
shíèryuè 十二月 (December)
Before we move on to telling time on the clock, you might be interested in learning more about time zones and time in China.
China is geographically vast, but surprisingly, how many time zones does China have?
Telling Time on the Clock in Chinese: Diǎn and Bàn
QUICK TIP – The Chinese word for “clock” is 时钟 shí zhōng.
Telling time on the clock in Chinese is also quite simple. Again, numbers are key, and the other vocabulary is easy to grasp.
The essential words are:
点 diǎn and 半 bàn. 点 diǎn literally means “point,” but it’s used to express “o’clock.” 半 bàn means “half.”
Let’s see them in action:
- 一点 yī diǎn (1 o’clock)
- 七点 qī diǎn (7 o’clock)
- 九点 jiǔ diǎn (9 o’clock)
- 十二点 shí’èr diǎn (12 o’clock)
- 两点半 liǎng diǎn bàn (Half past 2 / 2:30)
- 十点半 shí diǎn bàn (Half past 10 / 10:30)
It’s simply a matter of combining the number + 点 or 半 = the time!
Now, let’s explore how to express other times on the clock:
- 十点十分钟 shí diǎn shí fēnzhōng (Ten past ten / 10:10)
- 十一点二十五分钟 shíyī diǎn èrshíwǔ fēnzhōng (Twenty-five past eleven / 11:25)
- 三点四十分钟 sān diǎn sìshí fēnzhōng (Forty minutes past three / 3:40)
DID YOU KNOW? – “Quarter” can be expressed using 刻 kè, so 4:15 can be said in two ways:
- 四点一刻 sì diǎn yī kè
- 四点十五分钟 sì diǎn shíwǔ fēnzhōng
The choice is yours!
Here are some more very useful words for telling time in Chinese:
小时 xiǎo shí (Hour)
分钟 fēn zhōng (Minute)
秒 miǎo (Second)
早上 zǎo shang (Morning)
中午 zhōng wǔ (Noon)
下午 xià wǔ (Afternoon)
晚上 wǎn shàng (Evening)
半夜 Bàn yè (Midnight)
[
Fruits in Chinese: Your Ultimate Vocabulary Guide 🍓
Expanding your Chinese vocabulary? Explore our comprehensive list of fruits in Chinese, complete with audio pronunciations and flashcards to help you learn quickly and effectively.
](https://ltl-beihai.com/fruit-in-chinese/)
Useful Phrases and Vocabulary Related to Time in Chinese
So, you can now tell time in Chinese, you know the days of the week, and the months of the year in Chinese.
That’s excellent progress!
Now, let’s move on to some useful phrases related to time that might come in handy.
– 现在几点 ? xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
-
What time is it? / What’s the time?
-
我早上7点起床. wǒ zǎoshang 7 diǎn qǐchuáng.
- I wake up at 7 am.
-
我在下午4点下班. wǒ zài xiàwǔ 4 diǎn xiàbān.
- I finish work at 4 pm.
-
对不起，我迟到了. duìbùqǐ, wǒ chídàole.
- Sorry, I’m late.
-
请准时到达. qǐng zhǔnshí dàodá.
- Please arrive on time.
-
不要迟到！bùyào chídào!
- Don’t be late!
-
我们的航班在 _pm 出发. wǒmen de hángbān zài _pm chūfā.
- Our flight departs at _pm.
-
我们的火车到达 _pm. wǒmen de huǒchē dàodá _pm.
- Our train arrives at _pm.
-
什么时候是去中国的最佳时间？shénme shíhòu shì qù zhōngguó de zuì jiā shíjiān?
- When is the best time to travel to China? (Note: While China uses Beijing time across the country, weather and tourist seasons vary greatly depending on the region and time of year.)
Quick Quiz: Test Your Time Telling Skills in Chinese
Time’s up! Test your knowledge and see how well you’ve learned to tell time in Chinese. (Quiz content would be placed here in a real interactive article)
Frequently Asked Questions About Time in Chinese
How do you ask “What is the time” in Chinese?
The question “What is the time in Chinese?” is 现在几点? xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
How do you say “Clock” in Chinese?
The word “Clock” in Chinese is 时钟 shí zhōng.
How do you say “Morning, Afternoon, Evening” in Chinese?
“Morning,” “Afternoon,” and “Evening” in Chinese are 早上 zǎo shang (Morning), 下午 xià wǔ (Afternoon), and 晚上 wǎn shàng (Evening).
How do you say “Second, Minute, Hour” in Chinese?
“Second,” “Minute,” and “Hour” in Chinese are 秒 miǎo (Second), 分钟 fēn zhōng (Minute), and 小时 xiǎo shí (Hour).
How do you say “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” in Chinese?
昨天 zuótiān (Yesterday)
今天 jīntiān (Today)
明天 míngtiān (Tomorrow)
How do you say “Don’t be late” in Chinese?
A very useful phrase to remember!
不要迟到！bùyào chídào!
Want to Learn More with LTL?
If you’re eager to continue your Mandarin Chinese learning journey with LTL Mandarin School, we invite you to join our mailing list!
We provide lots of valuable resources for learning Chinese, recommend helpful language learning apps, and keep you updated on all the exciting happenings at our LTL language schools!
You can also study Mandarin online with us and our experienced teachers.
Sign up below and become a part of our growing community of language learners! (Sign-up form would be embedded here in a live webpage)
