Chinese Time & Calendar
Learning to talk about time in Chinese is super useful for everyday conversations! 🕒 Let's learn some simple time expressions that will help you schedule activities and make plans with friends!
Telling Time in Chinese
Telling time in Chinese is actually quite easy! The structure is very logical:
To tell time, just follow this pattern:
- Hour + 点o'clock, point, dot + Minutes + 分to divide; minute; fraction
For example:
So simple, right? 🎯 No need to worry about "a.m." or "p.m." - you can add 上午morning (morning), 下午afternoon (afternoon), or 晚上evening, night (evening) before the time if needed!
Days of the Week
Days of the week in Chinese follow a super logical pattern! They all start with 星期week, followed by a number:
Isn't that easier than in English? Monday is literally "Week Day 1" and so on! 😊
Essential Time Words
Let's learn some basic words about time that you'll use every day:
These four words will already help you talk about when things happen! ⏰
Simple Date Expressions
In Chinese, dates follow this logical order: Year + 年year + Month + 月month + Day + 号date, number
For months, just use numbers:
Useful Time Questions
Here are some simple questions about time:
- 现在几点了？What time is it now? - What time is it now?
- 今天是星期几？What day of the week is it today? - What day is it today?
Practice Conversation 🗣️
Try this simple dialogue:
| Speaker | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 👩🦰 | 你好！ | Nǐ hǎo! | Hello! |
| 👩🎓 | 你好！ | Nǐ hǎo! | Hello! |
| 👩🦰 | 现在几点了？ | Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le? | What time is it now? |
| 👩🎓 | 现在是三点二十分。 | Xiànzài shì sān diǎn èrshí fēn. | It's 3:20 now. |
| 👩🦰 | 今天是星期几？ | Jīntiān shì xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? |
| 👩🎓 | 今天是星期二。 | Jīntiān shì xīngqī èr. | Today is Tuesday. |
| 👩🦰 | 谢谢！ | Xiè xie! | Thank you! |
| 👩🎓 | 不客气！ | Bú kè qi! | You're welcome! |
Practice Tips 💪
- Set your phone to Chinese and practice reading the time display
- Say the date and time in Chinese each morning when you wake up
- Ask friends "现在几点了?" to practice in real conversations
- Make a weekly schedule in Chinese using days of the week
Learning time expressions in Chinese is super practical! With just these few words and patterns, you can already make arrangements, schedule meetings, and talk about your daily activities! 🎉 Keep practicing and you'll be telling time like a native speaker in no time! ⏰