Knowing how to tell time in Chinese is essential for daily life and exams like HSK 1–2. This guide will help you master time expressions, sentence structures, and cultural phrases used in schools, workplaces, and everyday conversations — with clear examples and vocabulary lists.

I. Why Learning to Tell Time in Chinese is Important?
II. How to Tell the Time in Chinese
III. Useful Vocabulary and Expressions About Time
IV. How Time Fits into Chinese Sentences?

Mastering Time in Chinese for Daily Conversations

I. Why Learning to Tell Time in Chinese is Important?

Learning how to tell time is one of the essential building blocks when studying Chinese. It's a practical skill that allows you to navigate daily life, manage schedules, and communicate clearly with others—whether you're living in China, traveling, or simply aiming for fluency.

From arranging a lunch with friends to understanding your class timetable or showing up to a business meeting on time, knowing how to express time correctly is vital.
In addition, telling time is a core topic in the HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) exams—especially in HSK Level 1 and 2—where learners are expected to understand and produce basic time structures. That means it’s not just useful for speaking—it’s also tested formally, making it a key milestone for academic or professional progress.
Beyond tests and utility, time expressions offer a window into how Chinese people organize their day and how language reflects cultural routines. By mastering this topic, you'll be able to confidently participate in conversations involving appointments, schedules, public transportation, school, and work.

In short, learning to tell time in Chinese connects your studies directly to real-life use—and builds your foundation for more advanced speaking and listening skills.

II. How to Tell the Time in Chinese

Telling the time in Chinese may seem challenging at first, but once you understand the basic structure and key vocabulary, it becomes surprisingly logical. Mandarin expresses time using a combination of numbers, measure words, and specifically ordered sentence structures.

Numbers and Time Units in Chinese

To express time in Mandarin, the following words are essential. These characters are used in combination with numbers to form the hour, minute, half, and quarter expressions.

Chinese Character	Pinyin	Meaning / Function	Example
点	diǎn	O’clock / Hour	三点 (sān diǎn) – 3 o’clock
分	fēn	Minute	十五分 – 15 minutes
半	bàn	Half (used for “half past the hour”)	六点半 – 6:30
刻	kè	Quarter (15 minutes)	七点一刻 – 7:15

Chinese Numbers You Need (to Express Time)

You’ll need to know how to count from 1 to 59 in Chinese to say minutes and hours correctly. Here are some commonly used numbers:

Chinese Number	Pinyin	English
一	yī	1
二	èr	2
三	sān	3
四	sì	4
五	wǔ	5
十	shí	10
十五	shí wǔ	15
二十	èr shí	20
三十	sān shí	30
四十五	sì shí wǔ	45
五十九	wǔ shí jiǔ	59

Tip: Once you understand how numbers build in Mandarin, combining them into time expressions is straightforward.

Asking and Telling the Time in Chinese

One of the most common ways to ask the time in Chinese is:

Chinese Sentence	Pinyin	English Meaning
现在几点？	xiànzài jǐ diǎn?	What time is it now?
现在五点十分。	xiànzài wǔ diǎn shí fēn.	It’s 5:10 right now.
七点一刻吃饭。	qī diǎn yí kè chī fàn.	Eat at 7:15.
九点半我去上班。	jiǔ diǎn bàn wǒ qù shàngbān.	I go to work at 9:30.

The standard word order is:

[Time Indicator] + [Hour] + 点 + [Minute] + 分

Use 现在 (xiànzài – now) to refer to the current time.

Patterns for Daily Use

Here are useful question–answer patterns to master:

Use Case	Chinese	Pinyin	English
Asking when something starts	几点开始？	jǐ diǎn kāishǐ?	What time does it start?
Saying when something ends	八点结束	bā diǎn jiéshù	It ends at 8:00
Talking about routine actions	你几点去工作？	nǐ jǐ diǎn qù gōngzuò?	What time do you go to work?
Stating schedule	我七点半起床。	wǒ qī diǎn bàn qǐchuáng.	I get up at 7:30.

Note: Daily use of time in Chinese revolves around context and clarity—often with fewer words than in English, but highly structured.

By mastering these units, phrases, and structures, learners will be able to comfortably ask and tell the time, follow schedules, and participate in real-life conversations in Chinese.

III. Useful Vocabulary and Expressions About Time

Knowing the basic structure for telling time is only the beginning. To speak naturally in Chinese, especially in everyday conversations, you’ll need a broader vocabulary related to the passage of time, routines, sequences of events, and culturally rooted expressions.

Everyday Time Expressions

These are commonly used words and phrases for talking about time throughout the day:

Chinese Word / Phrase	Pinyin	English Meaning
现在	xiànzài	now
今天	jīntiān	today
明天	míngtiān	tomorrow
昨天	zuótiān	yesterday
上午	shàngwǔ	morning (before noon)
下午	xiàwǔ	afternoon
晚上	wǎnshàng	evening or night
早上七点	zǎoshàng qī diǎn	7:00 in the morning
中午十二点	zhōngwǔ shí’èr diǎn	12:00 noon

These expressions help you describe activities throughout your day, book appointments, or speak about past/future events easily.

Sequencing and Time-Order Vocabulary

These words are essential for talking about when something happens, what comes before or after, and how often.

Chinese Expression	Pinyin	English Meaning
以前	yǐqián	before / earlier
以后	yǐhòu	after / later
刚才	gāngcái	just now
马上	mǎshàng	immediately / right away
已经	yǐjīng	already
还没	háiméi	not yet
总是	zǒngshì	always
有时候	yǒu shíhou	sometimes
从来不	cónglái bù	never (past habit)
一直	yīzhí	continuously / all along

These expressions are especially useful when describing habits, routines, or timeline-based actions.

Chinese Idioms and Cultural Expressions About Time

Idioms related to time reflect values in Chinese culture—such as punctuality, the value of time, and efficiency.

Idiom (成语 or Phrase)	Pinyin	Literal / Cultural Meaning
一寸光阴一寸金	yī cùn guāngyīn yī cùn jīn	“An inch of time is worth an inch of gold” (Time is precious)
日上三竿	rì shàng sāngān	“The sun is already high” (It’s getting late in the morning)
早起的鸟儿有虫吃	zǎo qǐ de niǎor yǒu chóng chī	“The early bird gets the worm” (Be early = gain advantage)
光阴似箭	guāngyīn sì jiàn	“Time flies like an arrow” (Time passes quickly)
争分夺秒	zhēng fēn duó miǎo	“Race against every minute and second” (Seize every moment)

Using idioms like these shows deeper cultural understanding and enriches your spoken or written Chinese dramatically—especially in formal contexts or storytelling.

IV. How Time Fits into Chinese Sentences?

In Chinese, where and how you place time expressions in a sentence matters. Unlike English, which is more flexible, Mandarin follows consistent patterns that determine sentence clarity and fluency. Mastering the position of time in a sentence is crucial for both natural communication and grammar accuracy, especially in formal writing and exams like HSK.

Typical Word Order with Time in Chinese

In most cases, time expressions are placed at the beginning of the sentence, either immediately before or after the subject. Here’s a basic structure:

[Time] + Subject + Verb + Object

Subject + [Time] + Verb + Object

Sentence	Pinyin	English Translation
今天我去上班。	jīntiān wǒ qù shàngbān	Today I go to work.
我今天去上班。	wǒ jīntiān qù shàngbān	I go to work today.
明天她学习中文。	míngtiān tā xuéxí zhōngwén	She studies Chinese tomorrow.

Both patterns are correct, though placing time up front is more common in spoken Chinese.

Using Time with Adverbs of Frequency

When expressing how often something happens, frequency adverbs (e.g. always, sometimes) commonly come before the verb but after the subject and time.

Structure

Subject + Time + Frequency Adverb + Verb...

Sentence	Pinyin	Meaning
他每天都喝咖啡。	tā měitiān dōu hē kāfēi	He drinks coffee every day.
我早上常常运动。	wǒ zǎoshàng chángcháng yùndòng	I often exercise in the morning.
我们下午有时候开会。	wǒmen xiàwǔ yǒu shíhou kāihuì	We sometimes have meetings in the afternoon.

Note: Chinese frequency adverbs include 总是 (zǒngshì – always), 常常 (chángcháng – often), 有时候 (yǒu shíhou – sometimes), and 从不 (cóng bù – never).

Emphasizing Time in a Sentence

Sometimes, time is placed at the front to emphasize when an action takes place—especially in narrative or formal contexts like storytelling or news.

Sentence	Pinyin	Emphasis
下午三点，我们开始考试。	xiàwǔ sān diǎn, wǒmen kāishǐ kǎoshì	At 3 PM, we start the test.
每个星期一他都迟到。	měi ge xīngqī yī tā dōu chídào	Every Monday, he is late.

This helps clarify schedules, orchestrate timelines, and reinforce expected actions.

When Not to Put Time at the Beginning

Be cautious when multiple modifiers are involved. If describing duration, frequency, and time all together, Mandarin typically orders them as:

Subject + Time + Frequency + Verb + Duration + Object

Example:

我每天练习一个小时中文。
wǒ měitiān liànxí yī gè xiǎoshí zhōngwén
→ I practice Chinese for one hour every day.

Putting all modifiers together in the right order makes the sentence clear and smooth.

Mastering how to tell the time in Chinese is more than just reading numbers on a clock—it's a gateway to managing real-life conversations, following a schedule, and understanding the rhythm of daily life in Mandarin.

Keep growing your Mandarin skills with PREP’s structured learning guides, practical vocabulary exercises, and bite-sized grammar explanations—designed to help you communicate naturally, confidently, and in sync with every minute that.