Time in Chinese

Grammar Point:
In Mandarin Chinese, time is expressed by stating the hour first, followed by the minute, in a “big to small” order, just like in English.

Time

Hour + 點/点 diǎn + Minute + 分 fēn

When expressing the time, you can use the structure mentioned above to indicate a specific time. However, if you specifically want to emphasize “o’clock” in Chinese, using 點鐘点钟 diǎnzhōng after the hour is a common way to do so.

5:50 – 五wǔ點diǎn五十wǔshí分fēn五wǔ点diǎn五十wǔshí分fēn

4:00 – 四sì點diǎn or 四sì點鐘diǎnzhōng四sì点diǎn or 四sì点钟diǎnzhōng

3:02 – 三sān點diǎn零líng二èr分fēn三sān点diǎn零líng二èr分fēn
(when expressing minutes below 10, it is common to add a leading zero. This helps to clarify and ensure clarity when indicating the exact minute.)

11:01 – 十一shíyī點diǎn零líng一yī分fēn十一shíyī点diǎn零líng一yī分fēn

2:18 – 兩liǎng點diǎn十八shíbā分fēn两liǎng点diǎn十八shíbā分fēn
(When expressing “Two o’clock” in Chinese, it is customary to use the term 兩两 liǎng instead of 二 èr. This is a special case in Chinese where 兩两 liǎng is used specifically for counting hours.)

12:15 – 十二shíèr點diǎn十五shíwǔ分fēn十二shíèr点diǎn十五shíwǔ分fēn

9:00 – 九jiǔ點diǎn or 九jiǔ點鐘diǎnzhōng九jiǔ点diǎn or 九jiǔ点钟diǎnzhōng

In spoken Chinese, it is common to omit the term 分 fēn when expressing minutes to make the sentence shorter and more efficient, but this is typically done only when the minutes are greater than 11.

7:24 – 七qī點diǎn二十四èrshísì七qī点diǎn二十四èrshísì

10:19 – 十shí點diǎn十九shíjiǔ十shí点diǎn十九shíjiǔ

現在xiànzài幾jǐ點diǎn？ 现在xiànzài几jī点diǎn？
What time is it now?

Half and Quarter

半 bàn

This is the term used to express “half” in Chinese.

7:30 – 七qī點diǎn半bàn七qī点diǎn半bàn

12:30 – 十二shíèr點diǎn半bàn十二shíèr点diǎn半bàn

刻 kè

This is the term used to express “quarter” in Chinese, but Taiwanese do not commonly use it. Instead, we prefer to say 15 分 fēn or 45 分 fēn to indicate a quarter of an hour..

2:15 – 兩liǎng點diǎn一yí刻kè两liǎng点diǎn一yí刻kè

8:45 – 八bā點diǎn三sān刻kè八bā点diǎn三sān刻kè

Minutes to the Hour

差 + Minutes + 分 + Hour + 點/点

Hour + 點/点 + 差 + Minutes + 分

差 chāchà means “to be short of” or “to lack.” It indicates that there is a time difference or remaining time until a certain hour.

5:55 – 差chā五wǔ分fēn六liù點diǎn差chà五wǔ分fēn六liù点diǎn

9:59 – 十shí點diǎn差chā一yì分fēn十shí点diǎn差chà一yì分fēn

11:28 – 差chā兩liǎng分fēn十一shíyī點diǎn半bàn差chà两liǎng分fēn十一shíyī点diǎn半bàn

A.M and P.M

Since the 24-hour system is not commonly used in Chinese time expression, the distinction between A.M. and P.M. becomes significant. However, in reality, Chinese does not have specific designations for A.M. and P.M. Instead, time is divided into seven periods. It is important to note that these periods are placed in front of the time when expressing it in Chinese.

• 早上zǎoshàng早上zǎoshang：05:00～09:00 ish (early morning)

• 上午shàngwǔ上午shàngwǔ：09:00～12:00 ish (morning)

• 中午zhōngwǔ中午zhōngwǔ：12:00 ish (noon)

• 下午xiàwǔ下午xiàwǔ：13:00～18:00 ish (afternoon)

• 晚上wǎnshàng晚上wǎnshang：18:00～00:00 ish (night)

• 半夜bànyè半夜bànyè：00:00～3:00 ish (midnight)

• 凌晨língchén凌晨língchén：3:00～5:00 ish (before dawn)

我wǒ每天měitiān早上zǎoshàng七qī點diǎn起床qǐcháig我wǒ每天měitiān早上zǎoshang七qī点diǎn起床qǐcháig
I wake up at 7 o’clock every morning.

晚上wǎnshàng十一shíyì點diǎn半bàn睡覺shuìjiào晚上wǎnshang十一shíyì点diǎn半bàn睡觉shuìjiào
I go to bed at 11:30 p.m. in the evening.

下午xiàwǔ三sān點diǎn一yí刻kè喝hē下午茶xiàwǔchá下午xiàwǔ三sān点diǎn一yí刻kè喝hē下午茶xiàwǔchá
I have afternoon tea at a quarter past three in the afternoon.

半夜bànyè兩點liǎngdiǎn不bú睡覺shuìjiào， 你nǐ在zài做zuò什麼shénme？ 半夜bànyè两点liǎngdiǎn不bú睡觉shuìjiào， 你nǐ在zài做zuò什么shénme？
I don’t sleep at 2 o’clock in the middle of the night. What are you doing?

我wǒ今天jīntiān上午shàngwǔ有yǒu中文zhōngwén課kè我wǒ今天jīntiān上午shàngwǔ有yǒu中文zhōngwén课kè
I have Chinese class this morning.

Practice

TouchHover over the space to see the answers.

✔️ 12:00

中午zhōngwǔ十二shíèr點diǎn中午zhōngwǔ十二shíèr点diǎn

✔️ 17:30

下午xiàwǔ五wǔ點diǎn半bàn下午xiàwǔ五wǔ点diǎn半bàn

✔️ 03:15

凌晨língchén三sān點diǎn一yí刻kè凌晨língchén三sān点diǎn一yí刻kè

• Days in Chinese (HSK 1)

• Dates in Chinese (HSK 1)