Telling Time in Mandarin Chinese

When navigating everyday life, it is important to know how to tell the time in order to schedule meetings, meet up with friends, know that youre running on time, and so on. The Chinese time system is fairly straightforward, and once you have learned your numbers you just need a few more vocabulary words to be able to tell the time. Here is an introduction on how to tell the time in Mandarin Chinese so that you can make plans while in a Chinese-speaking region. Numbering System Before learning talk about time in Mandarin Chinese, you need a solid grasp of Mandarin numbers. Here is a quick review of the Mandarin numbering system: All number vocabulary is based on the numbers from zero to ten.Multiples of 10 are expressed as 2-10 (20), 3-10 (30), etc.Numbers above 10 are expressed as 10-1 (11), 20-3 (23), etc.The number 2 has two forms: à ¨r when counting, and liÇŽng when used with a measure word (as in telling the time). Time Vocabulary This is a list of time-related Chinese vocabulary words. Audio files are included to help you with pronunciation and listening comprehension skills.   Ã¥ ° Ã¦â„¢â€š xiÇŽo shà ­: houré ËœÃ©   ­ (traditional) / é’Ÿå ¤ ´ (simplified) zhÃ… ng tà ³u: hour分é Ëœ / 分钟  fÄ“n zhÃ… ng: minuteç §â€™ miÇŽo: secondæâ€" ©Ã¤ ¸Å  zÇŽo shang:  morningä ¸Å Ã¥ Ë† shà  ng wÇ”:  morningä ¸ ­Ã¥ Ë† zhÃ… ng wÇ”: noonä ¸â€¹Ã¥ Ë† xià   wÇ”: afternoon晚ä ¸Å  wÇŽn shang:  eveningÃ¥ ¤Å"è £ ¡ / Ã¥ ¤Å"é‡Å'  yà ¨ lÇ : late  night甚é º ¼Ã¦â„¢â€šÃ¥â‚¬â„¢ / ä »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†Ã¦â€" ¶Ã¥â‚¬â„¢? shà ©nme shà ­hou:  when?Ã¥ ¹ ¾Ã© »Å¾ / å‡  Ã§â€š ¹? jÄ « diÇŽn:  what time? Time Format Mandarin time is most commonly expressed in â€Å"digital format, which means one would say 10:45 rather than â€Å"a quarter to eleven.† However, the word bà  n (Ã¥ Å ), which means â€Å"half,† is often used for 30 minutes past the hour.   Examples Now that you know your numbers and some basic time-telling vocabulary, lets put it all together. What can you say when someone asks you ç  ¾Ã¥Å" ¨Ã¥ ¹ ¾Ã© »Å¾Ã¤ ºâ€  Xià  nzà  i jÄ « diÇŽn le, or What time is it? 10:30Ã¥  Ã© »Å¾Ã¥ Å  / Ã¥  Ã© »Å¾Ã¤ ¸â€°Ã¥  Ã¥Ë†â€  shà ­ diÇŽn bà  n / shà ­ diÇŽn sÄ n shà ­ fÄ“n11:00Ã¥  Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã© »Å¾Ã© Ëœ shà ­ yÄ « diÇŽn zhÃ… ng12:15Ã¥  Ã¤ ºÅ'é »Å¾Ã¥  Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¥Ë†â€  shà ­ à ¨r diÇŽn shà ­ wÇ” fÄ“n1:00ä ¸â‚¬Ã© »Å¾Ã© Ëœ yÄ « diÇŽn zhÃ… ng3:20ä ¸â€°Ã© »Å¾Ã¤ ºÅ'Ã¥  Ã¥Ë†â€  sÄ n diÇŽn à ¨r shà ­ fÄ“n5:55ä ºâ€Ã© »Å¾Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¥  Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¥Ë†â€  wÇ” diÇŽn wÇ” shà ­ wÇ” fÄ“n8:00 in the morningæâ€" ©Ã¤ ¸Å Ã¥â€¦ «Ã© »Å¾ zÇŽo shang bÄ  diÇŽn2:00 in the afternoonä ¸â€¹Ã¥ Ë†Ã¥â€¦ ©Ã© »Å¾ xià   wÇ” liÇŽng diÇŽn9:05 in the evening晚ä ¸Å Ã¤ ¹ Ã© »Å¾Ã¤ ºâ€Ã¥Ë†â€  wÇŽn shang jiÇ” diÇŽn wÇ” fÄ“n