Time Vocabulary
40+ Chinese words for expressing time, dates, days, months, seasons, and temporal relationships, with pinyin, English, examples, and HSK levels.
Days Relative to Today (相对日期 xiāngduì rìqī)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Example | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 今天 | jīntiān | today | 今天是星期三。Today is Wednesday. | 1 |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow | 明天见！See you tomorrow! | 1 |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday | 昨天我很累。I was very tired yesterday. | 1 |
| 后天 | hòutiān | day after tomorrow | 后天开始上课。Classes start the day after tomorrow. | 2 |
| 前天 | qiántiān | day before yesterday | 前天我去看了电影。I went to see a movie the day before yesterday. | 2 |
| 大后天 | dàhòutiān | three days from now | 大后天是他的生日。His birthday is three days from now. | — |
Weeks (周/星期 zhōu / xīngqī)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Example | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 这周 / 这个星期 | zhèzhōu / zhège xīngqī | this week | 这周我很忙。I'm very busy this week. | 1 |
| 下周 / 下个星期 | xiàzhōu / xià gè xīngqī | next week | 下周我去上海。I'm going to Shanghai next week. | 1 |
| 上周 / 上个星期 | shàngzhōu / shàng gè xīngqī | last week | 上周末我们去爬山了。We went hiking last weekend. | 1 |
| 星期一 | xīngqīyī | Monday | 星期一上班。Work starts on Monday. | 1 |
| 星期二 | xīngqī'èr | Tuesday | 星期二有会议。There's a meeting on Tuesday. | 1 |
| 星期三 | xīngqīsān | Wednesday | 星期三我们有中文课。We have Chinese class on Wednesday. | 1 |
| 星期四 | xīngqīsì | Thursday | 星期四我去健身房。I go to the gym on Thursday. | 1 |
| 星期五 | xīngqīwǔ | Friday | 星期五是TGIF！Friday is TGIF! | 1 |
| 星期六 | xīngqīliù | Saturday | 星期六我睡懒觉。I sleep in on Saturday. | 1 |
| 星期日 / 星期天 | xīngqīrì / xīngqītiān | Sunday | 星期天一家人一起吃饭。The whole family eats together on Sunday. | 1 |
| 周末 | zhōumò | weekend | 你周末有什么计划？What are your plans for the weekend? | 2 |
| 工作日 | gōngzuòrì | weekday / workday | 工作日要早起。You need to get up early on weekdays. | — |
Months (月份 yuèfèn)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 一月 | yīyuè | January |
| 二月 | èryuè | February |
| 三月 | sānyuè | March |
| 四月 | sìyuè | April |
| 五月 | wǔyuè | May |
| 六月 | liùyuè | June |
| 七月 | qīyuè | July |
| 八月 | bāyuè | August |
| 九月 | jiǔyuè | September |
| 十月 | shíyuè | October |
| 十一月 | shíyīyuè | November |
| 十二月 | shí'èryuè | December |
Pattern: Month = number + 月 (yuè). January = 一月, February = 二月, etc.
Clock Time (时间表达 shíjiān biǎodá)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 点 | diǎn | o'clock | 三点 = 3 o'clock |
| 分 | fēn | minute | 三点二十分 = 3:20 |
| 秒 | miǎo | second | 三十秒 = 30 seconds |
| 半 | bàn | half | 三点半 = 3:30 |
| 差 | chà | less than (used before time) | 差五分三点 = 2:55 (5 minutes to 3) |
| 上午 | shàngwǔ | morning / AM (before noon) | 上午九点开会。Meeting at 9am. |
| 下午 | xiàwǔ | afternoon / PM | 下午两点见。See you at 2pm. |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | morning (early) | 早上好！Good morning! |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon / midday | 中午我去吃午饭。I'll go for lunch at noon. |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening / night | 晚上你有空吗？Are you free tonight? |
| 凌晨 | língchén | in the early morning (midnight–5am) | 凌晨三点到的。Arrived at 3am. |
Time structure: 上午/下午 + hour + 点 + minutes + 分
- 上午八点三十分 = 8:30 AM
- 下午三点一刻 = 3:15 PM (一刻 = quarter hour)
Duration (时长 shícháng)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Example | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour (duration) | 我学了两个小时中文。I studied Chinese for 2 hours. | 2 |
| 分钟 | fēnzhōng | minute (duration) | 等我五分钟。Wait 5 minutes for me. | 2 |
| 天 | tiān | day | 他出差了三天。He's been on a business trip for 3 days. | 1 |
| 周 | zhōu | week | 我们认识了一周了。We've known each other for one week. | — |
| 个月 | gè yuè | month (duration) | 我学了六个月中文。I've studied Chinese for 6 months. | 1 |
| 年 | nián | year | 我在中国住了三年。I've lived in China for 3 years. | 1 |
Relative Time Expressions (时间关系词 shíjiān guānxì cí)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Example | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 现在 | xiànzài | now | 你现在在哪儿？Where are you now? | 1 |
| 刚才 | gāngcái | just now / a moment ago | 他刚才来过。He was here just now. | 3 |
| 马上 | mǎshàng | right away / immediately | 我马上来！I'm coming right away! | 3 |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before / previously / in the past | 以前我不喜欢中文。I didn't like Chinese before. | 3 |
| 以后 | yǐhòu | after / in the future | 以后我想去中国。I want to go to China in the future. | 3 |
| 之前 | zhīqián | before (a point in time) | 上课之前复习一下。Review before class. | 3 |
| 之后 | zhīhòu | after (a point in time) | 吃饭之后散步。Take a walk after eating. | 3 |
| 经常 | jīngcháng | often / frequently | 我经常去跑步。I often go running. | 3 |
| 偶尔 | ǒu'ěr | occasionally / sometimes | 我偶尔喝一杯咖啡。I occasionally drink a cup of coffee. | 4 |
| 从来 | cónglái | never (with 不/没) / always (with positive) | 我从来不抽烟。I never smoke. | 4 |
| 已经 | yǐjīng | already | 我已经吃了。I've already eaten. | 2 |
| 还 | hái | still / yet | 他还在睡觉。He's still sleeping. | 2 |
| 就 | jiù | then / right away / at once | 我就来。I'll be right there. | 2 |
| 才 | cái | only then / not until | 他十点才来。He didn't arrive until 10 o'clock. | 3 |
| 最近 | zuìjìn | recently / lately | 最近你忙吗？Have you been busy lately? | 3 |
| 将来 | jiānglái | in the future | 将来你想做什么？What do you want to do in the future? | 4 |
| 过去 | guòqù | in the past | 过去的事情不要再想了。Don't think about the past anymore. | 3 |
Seasons (季节 jìjié)
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Example | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 春天 / 春季 | chūntiān / chūnjì | spring | 春天百花盛开。In spring, all the flowers bloom. | 2 |
| 夏天 / 夏季 | xiàtiān / xiàjì | summer | 夏天很热。Summer is very hot. | 2 |
| 秋天 / 秋季 | qiūtiān / qiūjì | autumn / fall | 秋天是收获的季节。Autumn is the harvest season. | 2 |
| 冬天 / 冬季 | dōngtiān / dōngjì | winter | 冬天北方很冷。Winter is very cold in the north. | 2 |
Key Time Grammar Patterns
Asking time:
- 现在几点了？(Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le?) — What time is it now?
- 几点开始/结束？(Jǐ diǎn kāishǐ/jiéshù?) — What time does it start/end?
Time words go before the verb:
- 我明天去。✓ (I'm going tomorrow.)
我去明天。✗
Duration comes after the verb:
- 我学了两年中文。(I've studied Chinese for 2 years.)
- 他睡了八个小时。(He slept for 8 hours.)
Date format: Year + Month + Day (大→小)
- 2026年5月30日 = May 30, 2026
- 二零二六年五月三十日