To tell time in Mandarin Chinese, put the hour before 点 (diǎn, o’clock), then add the minutes: 三点二十分 (sān diǎn èrshí fēn) is 3:20. To ask the time, say 现在几点？ (Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?)—“What time is it now?”
The basic clock is that tidy. Three friendly shortcuts—半 for half past, 一刻 for quarter past, and 差 for time “to” the next hour—make everyday speech faster. This lesson builds the system one layer at a time, then puts it into real plans.
The quick formula
[hour] + 点 + [minutes] + 分
| Time | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | 一点 | yī diǎn |
| 2:00 | 两点 | liǎng diǎn |
| 3:10 | 三点十分 | sān diǎn shí fēn |
| 6:25 | 六点二十五分 | liù diǎn èrshíwǔ fēn |
| 9:50 | 九点五十分 | jiǔ diǎn wǔshí fēn |
You need Chinese numbers to build the clock, but only up to 59. If those pieces are not automatic yet, review the Chinese numbers guide and come straight back.
Think of 点 as the hinge of the clock. Everything before it is the hour; everything after it is the minute. Point at a digital time, say the left side, 点, then the right side. Five random times a day will make the formula automatic quickly.
Ask “What time is it?”
The most useful question is:
现在几点？
Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
What time is it now?
现在 means now, 几 asks “what number/how many,” and 点 marks the hour. If the context is already clear, 几点了？ (Jǐ diǎn le?) is a very natural “What time is it?”
To ask when an event happens, put the event first:
- 电影几点开始？ (Diànyǐng jǐ diǎn kāishǐ?) — What time does the movie start?
- 你几点下班？ (Nǐ jǐ diǎn xiàbān?) — What time do you finish work?
- 我们几点见？ (Wǒmen jǐ diǎn jiàn?) — What time shall we meet?
Hours: use 两 at two o’clock
Hours are simply a number plus 点. The one important beginner trap is two o’clock: say 两点 (liǎng diǎn), not 二点. Mandarin normally uses 两 before a counting unit, while 二 remains the digit in calculations, phone numbers, and many fixed forms.
| Hour | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | 一点 | yī diǎn |
| 2:00 | 两点 | liǎng diǎn |
| 4:00 | 四点 | sì diǎn |
| 7:00 | 七点 | qī diǎn |
| 10:00 | 十点 | shí diǎn |
| 12:00 | 十二点 | shí’èr diǎn |
You may hear 点钟 (diǎnzhōng) at an exact hour—三点钟, three o’clock—but plain 三点 is shorter and more common. Do not insert 钟 when minutes follow.
Minutes, including the zero in 3:05
For most times, read the minute number and add 分 (fēn, minute). 分 is often dropped in relaxed speech when the meaning is obvious: 三点二十 can mean 3:20.
Minutes below ten need 零 (líng, zero), just as the digital display does:
| Time | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 3:05 | 三点零五分 | sān diǎn líng wǔ fēn |
| 3:08 | 三点零八分 | sān diǎn líng bā fēn |
| 3:10 | 三点十分 | sān diǎn shí fēn |
| 3:42 | 三点四十二分 | sān diǎn sìshí’èr fēn |
That spoken zero prevents 3:05 from sounding like “three-five” with an unclear relationship.
Half past, quarter past, and time to the hour
Chinese has compact analog-clock expressions, but the ordinary digit-by-digit version is always safe.
| Time | Everyday Chinese | Literal idea |
|---|---|---|
| 3:15 | 三点一刻 | three o’clock + one quarter |
| 3:30 | 三点半 | three o’clock + half |
| 3:45 | 三点三刻 | three o’clock + three quarters |
| 3:45 | 差一刻四点 | lacking one quarter to four |
| 2:50 | 差十分三点 | lacking ten minutes to three |
半 (bàn) is extremely common. 一刻 (yí kè) and 三刻 (sān kè) are useful, though simply saying 十五分 or 四十五分 is never wrong. With 差 (chà, to lack), count forward to the coming hour—the same mental move as English “ten to three.”
现在几点？
Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
What time is it now?
现在两点半。
Xiànzài liǎng diǎn bàn.
It’s 2:30.
我们下午三点一刻见。
Wǒmen xiàwǔ sān diǎn yí kè jiàn.
Let’s meet at 3:15 p.m.
电影晚上七点开始。
Diànyǐng wǎnshang qī diǎn kāishǐ.
The movie starts at 7:00 p.m.
现在差十分八点。
Xiànzài chà shí fēn bā diǎn.
It’s ten to eight now.
Morning, afternoon, and night
Mandarin normally puts the part of day before the clock time:
| Period | Chinese | Pinyin | Rough use |
|---|---|---|---|
| before dawn | 凌晨 | língchén | after midnight / very early |
| early morning | 早上 | zǎoshang | morning, especially early |
| morning / a.m. | 上午 | shàngwǔ | before noon |
| noon | 中午 | zhōngwǔ | around midday |
| afternoon / p.m. | 下午 | xiàwǔ | after noon |
| evening / night | 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening into night |
So 8:00 a.m. is 早上八点 or 上午八点. 2:30 p.m. is 下午两点半. 8:00 p.m. is 晚上八点. The words describe real parts of the day, so their boundaries are flexible rather than mathematical.
Put time into a sentence
Chinese does not need a preposition equivalent to English at. Put the time before the verb:
- 我八点上班。 — I start work at eight.
- 我们六点吃饭。 — We eat at six.
- 火车九点半出发。 — The train leaves at 9:30.
This fits the broader time-first order: 星期五下午三点见 means “See you Friday at 3 p.m.” Review the weekday pieces in the Chinese days of the week guide.
For a range, use 从…到… (cóng…dào…, from…to…): 我从九点工作到五点—“I work from nine to five.” Put 左右 (zuǒyòu, approximately) after a time for “around”: 七点左右, around seven.
Do not use 二点 for 2:00 in ordinary Mandarin; use 两点. But keep 二 inside the minutes: 2:22 is 两点二十二分. The hour behaves like a counted unit; the minute part is read as the number 22.
Digital schedules and the 24-hour clock
Train boards, tickets, phone settings, and formal schedules often display 24-hour time: 14:30, 18:05, 21:45. In conversation, speakers commonly convert that to a day period plus a 12-hour time—下午两点半 for 14:30.
Formal announcements can read the 24-hour number directly: 十四点三十分 (shísì diǎn sānshí fēn). Both systems use the same 点 and 分 formula, so learning one gives you the other almost free.
Chinese invitations often remove ambiguity by pairing the date, weekday, day period, and time: “8月20日，星期四，下午3点.” It looks repetitive to an English learner, but every layer answers a different practical question and makes a meeting harder to misread.
A two-minute clock challenge
Say these before revealing the answer:
- 4:00 — 四点 (sì diǎn)
- 2:05 — 两点零五分 (liǎng diǎn líng wǔ fēn)
- 7:30 p.m. — 晚上七点半 (wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn)
- 9:15 a.m. — 上午九点一刻 (shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn yí kè)
- ten to six — 差十分六点 (chà shí fēn liù diǎn)
Then reverse the game: write five random digital times, say each in Chinese, and check only after all five. Retrieval is what teaches your brain to read a clock without translating.
Common questions
Can I leave out 分?
Often, yes. 八点二十 naturally means 8:20. Keep 分 while learning and in careful speech; recognize the shorter form when listening.
Is 12:00 noon 上午 or 下午?
Use 中午十二点 for noon. For midnight, 半夜十二点 or 凌晨零点 can remove the 12 a.m./p.m. confusion.
Is 一刻 more natural than 十五分?
Both are correct. 一刻 is compact; 十五分 maps directly to a digital clock. Use whichever comes to mind first.
How do I ask “What time should we meet?”
Say 我们几点见？ (Wǒmen jǐ diǎn jiàn?). To propose one, answer 三点怎么样？—“How about three?”
Keep learning Chinese
You can now read a digital time, ask when something starts, choose between 两 and 二, and arrange a meeting from nine to five. Put the clock into a real conversation with our free essential Chinese phrases. For the next day, say the time in Mandarin whenever you unlock your phone—twelve tiny repetitions are more useful than one long cram session.
