I can ask and say what time it is — 现在几点？— 下午三点半, — and agree on a time to meet.
What time is it: 点, 分, 半
What time is it: 点, 分, 半
What for: arranging to meet — asking and telling the time. Question: 现在几点？(Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?) In the answer 是 can be left out, as in 我二十岁 (Wǒ èrshí suì): 现在十点。= 现在是十点。(Xiànzài shí diǎn. = Xiànzài shì shí diǎn.)
• The hour — number + 点; “two o'clock” is 两点 (点 is a measure word, so 两 goes before it), but 十二点. • Minutes — number + 分; under ten, with 零: 零五分. • Half past — 半 after the hour. • A quarter — 一刻 (yí kè), three quarters — 三刻 (sān kè) (people say this, and displays show it; you can also say 十五分, 四十五分). Chinese usually counts from the hour that has passed: 2:45 is 两点三刻, where English can say “a quarter to three”.
From the largest unit to the smallest: time of day → hour → minutes. 下午三点 is literally “afternoon three o'clock”, that is 3 p.m. (15:00): English puts p.m. last, Chinese puts the time of day first. In writing the time is often in figures: 下午3点.
“When?” is 什么时候 (shénme shíhou). 时间 is time you have or don't have: “我们有时间。(Wǒmen yǒu shíjiān.)” — “We have time.”
Common mistakes:
• ×半八点 for 7:30 — the half comes after the hour that has PASSED: 七点半, as in “half past seven”.
• ×三点下午 → 下午三点.
• ×二点 → 两点.
How to say the time
Two o'clock — 两点; twelve — 十二点.
| On the clock | In Chinese | Another way |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | 八点 (bā diǎn) | — |
| 8:05 | 八点零五分 (bā diǎn líng wǔ fēn) | — |
| 8:15 | 八点十五分 (bā diǎn shíwǔ fēn) | 八点一刻 (bā diǎn yí kè) |
| 8:30 | 八点半 (bā diǎn bàn) | 八点三十分 (bā diǎn sānshí fēn) |
| 8:45 | 八点四十五分 (bā diǎn sìshíwǔ fēn) | 八点三刻 (bā diǎn sān kè) |
| 2:00 | 两点 (liǎng diǎn) | — |
| 12:00 | 十二点 (shí'èr diǎn) | — |
Times of day
| Word | Roughly | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 早上 (zǎoshang) | 6–9 | 早上七点 = 7:00 |
| 上午 (shàngwǔ) | 9–12 | 上午十一点 = 11:00 |
| 中午 (zhōngwǔ) | 12–13 | 中午一点 = 13:00 |
| 下午 (xiàwǔ) | 13–18 | 下午三点 = 15:00 |
| 晚上 (wǎnshang) | 18–24 | 晚上八点 = 20:00 |
| 白天 (báitiān) | while it's light | the opposite of 晚上 |
Lesson notes
What time is it: 点, 分, 半
What for: arranging to meet — asking and telling the time. Question: 现在几点？(Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?) In the answer 是 can be left out, as in 我二十岁 (Wǒ èrshí suì): 现在十点。= 现在是十点。(Xiànzài shí diǎn. = Xiànzài shì shí diǎn.)
• The hour — number + 点; “two o'clock” is 两点 (点 is a measure word, so 两 goes before it), but 十二点. • Minutes — number + 分; under ten, with 零: 零五分. • Half past — 半 after the hour. • A quarter — 一刻 (yí kè), three quarters — 三刻 (sān kè) (people say this, and displays show it; you can also say 十五分, 四十五分). Chinese usually counts from the hour that has passed: 2:45 is 两点三刻, where English can say “a quarter to three”.
From the largest unit to the smallest: time of day → hour → minutes. 下午三点 is literally “afternoon three o'clock”, that is 3 p.m. (15:00): English puts p.m. last, Chinese puts the time of day first. In writing the time is often in figures: 下午3点.
“When?” is 什么时候 (shénme shíhou). 时间 is time you have or don't have: “我们有时间。(Wǒmen yǒu shíjiān.)” — “We have time.”
Common mistakes:
• ×半八点 for 7:30 — the half comes after the hour that has PASSED: 七点半, as in “half past seven”.
• ×三点下午 → 下午三点.
• ×二点 → 两点.