TELLING THE TIME

IN MANDARIN
LESSON VII
Learning Objectives:
• Described how to pick up the phone

• Explained cell phone language

• Identify the difference between leisure and business

talk

• Discussed how to deal with answering machine and

voicemail
◦ The Chinese time system is easy and straightforward – once you
have known your way around numbers, you just need to learn a few
more vocabulary words to be able to tell the time in Chinese.
◦ Uses a 12-hour time system.
◦ Words like “morning”, “afternoon” or “evening” are frequently
used with the time itself in daily time expressions.
◦ To tell the time in Chinese, you have to not only be able to
pronounce the hours and minutes correctly but also know the basics
of Chinese time vocabulary.
Chinese Pinyin English
点 diǎn o’clock
分 fēn minute (on the clock)
半 bàn half
刻 kè quarter
现在 xiànzài now
早上 zǎoshang (early) morning
上午 shàngwǔ (late) morning
中午 zhōngwǔ midday
下午 xiàwǔ afternoon
晚上 wǎnshang evening/night
Formula in Telling Time
◦ 现在是 + time
Xiànzài shì + time
Literally, “Now is … (time)

◦ ” To say a time on the hour in Chinese (like two o’clock or six o’clock), say the number corresponding
to the hour first, then add the word 点 (diǎn) – “o’clock” to it.
◦ Example:
◦ 现在 ( 是 ) 一点 – It’s one o’clock. Xiànzài (shì ) yī diǎn
◦ 现在 ( 是 ) 两点 – It’s two o’clock. Xiànzài (shì) liǎng diǎn
Half/ Past the hour
◦ To say half past the hour in Chinese, use the word 半 (bàn) – meaning “half” – after the time on
the hour.
◦ Format: number of the hour + 点 (diǎn) + 半 (bàn)
◦ For example,

◦ 现在 ( 是 ) 三点半 – It’s half past three. Xiànzài (shì) sān diǎn bàn
◦
现在 ( 是 ) 六点半 – It’s half past six. Xiànzài (shì) liù diǎn bàn
The exact time (Hour + Minute)
◦ The structure of hour + minutes in Chinese is quite simple – you say the time on the hour
first, then say the number corresponding to the minute.
◦ Format: number of the hour + 点 (diǎn) + number of the minute. As always, you can
start by saying 现在是 (Xiànzài shì) or 现在 (Xiànzài) before the time.
◦ For example, if you want to say that its 5:21, you’ll say:
现在 ( 是 ) 五点二十一
Xiànzài (shì) wǔ diǎn èr shí yī
◦ Literally, “Now (is) five o’clock twenty-one”
The exact time (Hour + Minute)
◦ Thus, the same as in English, there are two ways that you can use to indicate half hours and
quarter hours in Chinese.

◦ If it’s 8:15, you can say

◦ 现在 ( 是 ) 八点一刻 – It’s a quarter past eight. (eight o’clock a quarter) Xiànzài (shì) bā diǎn yí kè
◦ 现在 ( 是 ) 八点十五 – It’s eight fifteen. (eight o’clock fifteen) Xiànzài (shì) bā diǎn shí wǔ
◦ If it’s 8:30, you can say
◦ 现在 ( 是 ) 八点半 – It’s half past eight. (eight o’clock half) Xiànzài (shì) bā diǎn bàn
◦ 现在 ( 是 ) 八点三十 – It’s eight thirty. (eight o’clock thirty) Xiànzài (shì) bā diǎn sān shí
 Saying the Time of the Day in Chinese: Morning,
Afternoon, or Evening?

China, like the United States, uses the 12-hour clock.

So you can use 五点 (“five o’clock”) to refer to the time
of morning and afternoon. To clarify whether it’s five in
the morning or five in the afternoon, you’ll need to use
some extra time words.
In Chinese, there is no a.m. or p.m. Instead, you add
either 早 上 (zǎoshang) – “early morning”, 上 午
(shàngwǔ) – “late morning”, 中午 (zhōngwǔ) – “midday”,
下 午 (xiàwǔ) – “afternoon”, or 晚 上 (wǎnshang) –
“evening/night”, before the time on the 12-hour clock to
distinguish the time of the day.