Lesson 9: Time
After learning year, month and date, it's time to learn how to describe the specific time of a day in Chinese.
Vocabulary A:
| Chinese Character | Pinyin | Pronunciation | English Translation | |
| 现在 | xiàn zài | now | ||
| 现 | xiàn | appear, manifest, become visible | ||
| 在 | zài | be at, in, on; consist in, rest | ||
| 点 | diǎn | o'clock, point, dot | ||
| 分 | fēn | minute, separate | ||
| 早上 | zǎo shàng | morning | ||
| 早 | zǎo | early | ||
| 下午 | xià wǔ | afternoon | ||
| 午 | wǔ | noon | ||
| 空 | kòng | spare time, empty, hollow, bare | ||
| 吗 | mā | final interrogative particle | ||
| 我们 | wǒ men | we; us | ||
| 一起 | yì qǐ | together | ||
| 看 | kàn | look, see, watch | ||
| 电影 | diàn yǐng | movie | ||
| 电 | diàn | electricity, electric | ||
| 影 | yǐng | photograph, shadow; image | ||
| 吧 | bā | emphatic final particle | ||
| 两 | liǎng | two, both, pair, couple; ounce | ||
| 半 | bàn | half | ||
Tips A:
- when to say "half past" in Chinese, you simply put the word "half" - "ban-半" after the number. (e.g. half past 3 = 3点半）
Dialog A:
Click to hear the above dialog.
English Translation A:
What time is it now?
Now is 9:10 in the morning.
Do you have time this afternoon?
I do.
How about let's go watch movie together this afternoon?
Ok! What time?
2:30 in the afternoon.
Vocabulary B:
| Chinese Character | Pinyin | Pronunciation | English Translation | |
| 上午 | shàng wǔ | morning | ||
| 中午 | zhōng wǔ | noon | ||
| 中 | zhōng | middle | ||
| 晚上 | wǎn shàng | evening | ||
| 晚 | wǎn | late | ||
| 时候 | shí hòu | time | ||
| 时 | shí | time | ||
| 候 | hòu | wait | ||
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day | ||
| 每 | měi | every | ||
| 起床 | qǐ chuáng | get up | ||
| 床 | chuáng | bed | ||
| 吃 | chī | eat | ||
| 早饭 | zǎo fàn | breakfast | ||
| 饭 | fàn | food | ||
| 午饭 | wǔ fàn | lunch | ||
| 晚饭 | wǎn fàn | dinner, supper | ||
| 上班 | shàng bān | go to work | ||
| 班 | bān | work | ||
| 睡觉 | shuì jiào |
sleep | ||
| 睡 | shuì | sleep | ||
| 觉 | jiào | |||
| 左右 | zuǒ yòu | around | ||
| 左 | zuǒ | left | ||
| 右 | yòu | right | ||
Tips B:
- An interesting word structure in Chinese is when you put two opposite adjective words together, it turns into a measuring word. (e.g. big and small = "大小“ = how big or how small; much and few = "多少“=how much; left and right = "左右“=around that figure). We will be introducing these measuring word combos in more details later.
Dialog B:
Click to hear the above dialog.
English Translation B:
What time do you get up every morning?
I get up at 7 o'clock.
What time do you eat breakfast?
Around 7:30.
What tie do you go to work?
8 o'clock in the morning.
What time
do you eat lunch?
12:20 at noon.
What time do you eat supper?
6:15 in the evening.
What time do you sleep at night?
Around 10 o'clock.
Chinese Calligraphy:
现 在 点 早 午 晚 空 吗 看 电 影 吧 两 半 中 时 候 每 床 吃 饭 左 右 班 睡 觉
Questions and Comments
