Telling Time in Mandarin Chinese (时间/ shíjiān)

Telling time in Mandarin is simple once you know some basic words and sentence patterns. Let’s learn step by step.

1. Key Vocabulary

Learn the following vocabulary about time in Mandarin Chinese.

2. Talking About Daily Activities

Read the following text about Daily Schedule in Mandarin Chinese.

🕐 我的时间表

Wǒ de shíjiān biǎo
My Daily Schedule

早上六点，我起床。
Zǎoshang liù diǎn, wǒ qǐchuáng.
At 6:00 in the morning, I get up.

六点一刻，我吃早饭。
Liù diǎn yí kè, wǒ chī zǎofàn.
At 6:15, I eat breakfast.

七点半，我去学校。
Qī diǎn bàn, wǒ qù xuéxiào.
At 7:30, I go to school.

上午九点，我上第一节课。
Shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn, wǒ shàng dì yī jié kè.
At 9:00 in the late morning, I have my first class.

中午十二点，我吃午饭。
Zhōngwǔ shí’èr diǎn, wǒ chī wǔfàn.
At 12:00 noon, I eat lunch.

下午一点，我学习中文两个小时。
Xiàwǔ yī diǎn, wǒ xuéxí Zhōngwén liǎng gè xiǎoshí.
At 1:00 in the afternoon, I study Chinese for two hours.

下午三点，我休息。
Xiàwǔ sān diǎn, wǒ xiūxí.
At 3:00 in the afternoon, I take a rest.

晚上七点，我吃晚饭。
Wǎnshang qī diǎn, wǒ chī wǎnfàn.
At 7:00 in the evening, I eat dinner.

晚上九点，我看书三十分钟。
Wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn, wǒ kàn shū sānshí fēnzhōng.
At 9:00 p.m., I read a book for 30 minutes.

晚上十点，我睡觉。
Wǎnshang shí diǎn, wǒ shuìjiào.
At 10:00 p.m., I go to bed.

Useful Expressions

You can say what time you do something using the following pattern:

(Subject) + (Time) + (Action)

Examples:

1. 我七点吃早饭。
Wǒ qī diǎn chī zǎofàn.
I eat breakfast at 7 o’clock.

2. 你几点上学？
Nǐ jǐ diǎn shàngxué?
What time do you go to school?

3. 他五点半回家。
Tā wǔ diǎn bàn huí jiā.
He goes home at 5:30.

3. 她八点睡觉。
Tā bā diǎn shuìjiào.
She sleeps at 8 o’clock.

4. 我们十点开始上课。
Wǒmen shí diǎn kāishǐ shàngkè.
We start class at 10 o’clock.

5. 你们几点去图书馆？
Nǐmen jǐ diǎn qù túshūguǎn?
What time do you all go to the library?

6. 他们六点吃晚饭。
Tāmen liù diǎn chī wǎnfàn.
They eat dinner at 6 o’clock.

7. 她们七点看电影。
Tāmen qī diǎn kàn diànyǐng.
They watch a movie at 7 o’clock.

3. Asking for Time

To ask “What time is it?” say:

现在几点？
Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
What time is it now?

4. How to Answer

To the question (现在几点？Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? What time is it now?) you can answer by using the following pattern:
现在 + (hour) 点 + (minute) 分
= Now it is ___ o’clock and ___ minutes.

Examples:

现在三点。
Xiànzài sān diǎn.
It is 3 o’clock.

现在七点二十分。
Xiànzài qī diǎn èrshí fēn. It is 7:20.

现在十点半。
Xiànzài shí diǎn bàn.
It is 10:30.

现在是四点十五分。
Xiànzài shì sì diǎn shíwǔ fēn.
Now is 4:15

Or you can say,

现在四点一刻。
Xiànzài sì diǎn yī kè.
It’s a quarter past four now.

The difference between 分钟 (fēnzhōng) and 分 (fēn)

Both 分钟 (fēnzhōng) and 分 (fēn) relate to minutes, but they are used differently.

🔹分 (fēn)

• Used when telling time.
• Refers to minutes on the clock.

Examples:

• 现在三点二十分。
  (Xiànzài sān diǎn èrshí fēn.)
  → It’s 3:20 now.
• 我每天七点三十分起床。
  (Wǒ měitiān qī diǎn sānshí fēn qǐchuáng.)
  → I get up at 7:30 every day.

🔹 分钟 (fēnzhōng)

• Used when talking about duration of time.
• Refers to how long something takes.

Examples:

• 我学中文学了二十分钟。
  (Wǒ xué Zhōngwén xué le èrshí fēnzhōng.)
  → I studied Chinese for 20 minutes.
• 请等我五分钟。
  (Qǐng děng wǒ wǔ fēnzhōng.)
  → Please wait for 5 minutes.

Tips for Time in Mandarin

✅ For exact time, use 点:
→ 七点 = qǐdiǎn = 7 o’clock

✅ For hour, use 小时 (xiǎoshí)
→ 2小时 = liǎng xiǎoshí (standard/neutral/formal) or  liǎng ge xiǎoshí (common in spoken language) = 2 hours

✅ For half past: use 半 (bàn):
→ 七点半 = qī diǎn bàn = 7:30

✅ For minutes (what time is it): use 分 (fēn):
→ 八点二十分 = bā diǎn èrshí fēn = 8:20

✅ For minutes (duration/how long?): use 分钟 (fēnzhōng):
→ 我等了二十分钟。” (Wǒ děng le èrshí fēnzhōng.) = I waited for 20 minutes.

✅ For AM/PM, use time words like 早上, 下午, or 晚上.
→ 下午三点 = xiàwǔ sān diǎn = three o’clock in the afternoon = 3 PM

5. Dialog for Practice

Please practice the following dialogue with your partner.

The following is a dialogue between 明明 (Míngmíng) and 小红 (Xiǎo Hóng) who talk about daily activities

明明: 你早上几点起床？
Nǐ zǎoshang jǐ diǎn qǐchuáng?
What time do you get up in the morning?

小红: 我早上六点半起床。你呢？
Wǒ zǎoshang liù diǎn bàn qǐchuáng. Nǐ ne?
I get up at 6:30 in the morning. How about you?

明明: 我七点起床。你几点去学校？
Wǒ qī diǎn qǐchuáng. Nǐ jǐ diǎn qù xuéxiào?
I get up at 7. What time do you go to school?

小红: 我七点四十分去学校。你几点上课？
Wǒ qī diǎn sìshí fēn qù xuéxiào. Nǐ jǐ diǎn shàngkè?
I go to school at 7:40. What time do you start class?

明明: 我们八点上课。
Wǒmen bā diǎn shàngkè.
We start class at 8:00.

小红: 你中午几点吃午饭？
Nǐ zhōngwǔ jǐ diǎn chī wǔfàn?
What time do you eat lunch?

明明: 我中午十二点吃午饭。你呢？
Wǒ zhōngwǔ shí’èr diǎn chī wǔfàn. Nǐ ne?
I eat lunch at 12 PM. And you?

小红: 我也是。我们下午三点放学，对吗？
Wǒ yě shì. Wǒmen xiàwǔ sān diǎn fàngxué, duì ma?
Me too. We finish school at 3 PM, right?

明明: 对，我们三点放学。
Duì, wǒmen sān diǎn fàngxué.
Yes, we finish school at 3.

6. Exercise