🕐 Time Expressions in Chinese: Your Time Travel Guide!
Imagine you have a magic clock that speaks Chinese! This clock doesn’t just tell time—it helps you talk about when things happen, how long they take, how often you do them, and even really big numbers like a million! Let’s learn how this magic clock works!
🌟 The Big Picture
In Chinese, talking about time is like building with LEGO blocks:
- Time Words = The labels on your clock (today, tomorrow, morning)
- Duration = How long you play with your toys
- Frequency = How many times you eat ice cream
- Big Numbers = Counting all the stars in the sky!
📅 Part 1: Time Words (时间词)
The Time Word Family
Think of time words as signposts on a road. They tell you exactly where you are on your time journey!
🌅 Days - Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | Memory Trick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday | “Zuo” = past, behind you |
| 今天 | jīntiān | today | “Jin” = now, present |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow | “Ming” = bright future |
| 后天 | hòutiān | day after tomorrow | “Hou” = after |
| 前天 | qiántiān | day before yesterday | “Qian” = before |
Simple Story:
Little Ming’s goldfish was sick 昨天 (yesterday). The vet came 今天 (today). The fish will be happy 明天 (tomorrow)! 🐟
🌙 Parts of the Day
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 早上 | zǎoshang | morning |
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | late morning |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening/night |
Example Sentences:
早上好！(Zǎoshang hǎo!) = Good morning!
晚上我看书。(Wǎnshang wǒ kàn shū.) = I read books at night.
📆 Weeks and Months
Days of the Week - It’s like counting!
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 星期一 | xīngqī yī | Monday (Week-1) |
| 星期二 | xīngqī èr | Tuesday (Week-2) |
| 星期三 | xīngqī sān | Wednesday (Week-3) |
| 星期四 | xīngqī sì | Thursday (Week-4) |
| 星期五 | xīngqī wǔ | Friday (Week-5) |
| 星期六 | xīngqī liù | Saturday (Week-6) |
| 星期天/日 | xīngqī tiān/rì | Sunday |
💡 Super Easy! Just say 星期 + number (1-6). Sunday is special!
This Week, Last Week, Next Week:
- 这个星期 (zhège xīngqī) = this week
- 上个星期 (shàngge xīngqī) = last week
- 下个星期 (xiàge xīngqī) = next week
⏱️ Part 2: Duration Expressions (时间长度)
How Long Did You Play?
Duration tells us how much time something takes. It’s like measuring with a ruler, but for time!
The Magic Formula
Number + Time Unit + 的 (optional)
Time Units for Duration
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 分钟 | fēnzhōng | minute(s) |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour(s) |
| 天 | tiān | day(s) |
| 个星期 | ge xīngqī | week(s) |
| 个月 | ge yuè | month(s) |
| 年 | nián | year(s) |
Examples - Building Duration
| Duration | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 五分钟 | wǔ fēnzhōng |
| 2 hours | 两个小时 | liǎng ge xiǎoshí |
| 3 days | 三天 | sān tiān |
| 1 week | 一个星期 | yí ge xīngqī |
| 6 months | 六个月 | liù ge yuè |
| 10 years | 十年 | shí nián |
⚠️ Notice: Hours, weeks, and months need 个 (ge)!
Duration in Sentences
我学了两年中文。
Wǒ xué le liǎng nián Zhōngwén.
I studied Chinese for two years.
他睡了八个小时。
Tā shuì le bā ge xiǎoshí.
He slept for eight hours.
半 (bàn) = Half
Add 半 after the time unit for “half”:
- 半个小时 = half an hour
- 一个半小时 = one and a half hours
- 两天半 = two and a half days
🔄 Part 3: Frequency Expressions (频率)
How Often Do You…?
Frequency is like counting how many times your heart beats or how many times you blink!
Key Frequency Words
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 每天 | měitiān | every day |
| 每周/每星期 | měizhōu/měi xīngqī | every week |
| 每月 | měiyuè | every month |
| 每年 | měinián | every year |
| 经常 | jīngcháng | often |
| 有时候 | yǒushíhou | sometimes |
| 很少 | hěnshǎo | rarely |
| 从不 | cóngbù | never |
The 每 (měi) Pattern
每 means “every” or “each”. It’s super useful!
每 + Time Word = Every [time]
每天 = every day
每个星期 = every week
每个月 = every month
每年 = every year
Counting Times: 次 (cì)
次 is the “counter” for number of times:
| Chinese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 一次 | once (1 time) |
| 两次 | twice (2 times) |
| 三次 | three times |
| 很多次 | many times |
Example Sentences:
我每天刷两次牙。
Wǒ měitiān shuā liǎng cì yá.
I brush my teeth twice every day.
她每周去三次健身房。
Tā měi zhōu qù sān cì jiànshēnfáng.
She goes to the gym three times a week.
Frequency Ladder 🪜
From most to least frequent:
graph TD A[总是 zǒngshì - always] --> B[经常 jīngcháng - often] B --> C[有时候 yǒushíhou - sometimes] C --> D[很少 hěnshǎo - rarely] D --> E[从不 cóngbù - never]
🔢 Part 4: Large Numbers (万 and 亿)
Counting to Infinity!
In Chinese, big numbers work differently. Instead of “thousand” groups, Chinese uses ten-thousand groups!
Meet the Big Number Heroes
| Chinese | Pinyin | Value | Western Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 万 | wàn | 10,000 | ten thousand |
| 亿 | yì | 100,000,000 | hundred million |
The Chinese Number System
Western: 1,000 → 10,000 → 100,000 → 1,000,000
Chinese: 千(qiān) → 万(wàn) → 十万 → 百万
How 万 (wàn) Works
Think of 万 as a “super thousand”!
| Number | Chinese | How to Read |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | 一万 | yí wàn |
| 20,000 | 两万 | liǎng wàn |
| 50,000 | 五万 | wǔ wàn |
| 100,000 | 十万 | shí wàn |
| 150,000 | 十五万 | shíwǔ wàn |
| 1,000,000 | 一百万 | yì bǎi wàn |
How 亿 (yì) Works
亿 is even bigger—it’s 10,000 × 10,000!
| Number | Chinese | How to Read |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000,000 | 一亿 | yí yì |
| 1,000,000,000 | 十亿 | shí yì |
| 14,000,000,000 | 一百四十亿 | yì bǎi sìshí yì |
Real-World Examples
中国有十四亿人。
Zhōngguó yǒu shísì yì rén.
China has 1.4 billion people.
这个房子要三百万。
Zhège fángzi yào sānbǎi wàn.
This house costs 3 million.
他赚了五万块。
Tā zhuàn le wǔ wàn kuài.
He earned 50,000 yuan.
Conversion Cheat Sheet
| Western | Chinese |
|---|---|
| 10,000 | 1万 |
| 100,000 | 10万 |
| 1 million | 100万 |
| 10 million | 1000万 |
| 100 million | 1亿 |
| 1 billion | 10亿 |
🎯 Quick Summary
Time Words
- Days: 昨天, 今天, 明天
- Parts of day: 早上, 中午, 晚上
- Weeks: 星期 + number
Duration
- Use time units: 分钟, 小时, 天, 个星期, 个月, 年
- Pattern: Number + Time Unit (+ 的)
- Half = 半 (bàn)
Frequency
- 每 + time = every [time]
- 次 = times (counter)
- Ladder: 总是 → 经常 → 有时候 → 很少 → 从不
Large Numbers
- 万 (wàn) = 10,000
- 亿 (yì) = 100,000,000
- Chinese counts in 万 groups, not thousands!
🚀 You Did It!
Now you can:
- ✅ Talk about when things happen
- ✅ Say how long something takes
- ✅ Express how often you do things
- ✅ Count really big numbers like a pro!
Practice tip: Every day, try to say one sentence using each type of time expression. Before you know it, talking about time in Chinese will feel as natural as checking your watch! ⌚
💪 Remember: Learning a language is a journey, not a race. 每天学一点，一年学很多！(Learn a little every day, learn a lot in a year!)