CHINESE : What’s the time now? xiàn zài jǐ diǎn?

• What time do you get up?

nǐ shén me shí hou qǐ chuáng
• I get up at half past six in the morning.
wǒ zǎo shàng liù diǎn bàn qǐ chuáng

• Have a Quick Review of Chinese Numbers 1-12

To review, here are the digits 1 through 10 in Chinese. Do you know them? Count with me:
一 (yī) one
两 (liǎng) two
*Note that when referring to time and currency, we use a different word for two than the one for counting, which is 二 (èr) two.
三 (sān) three
四 (sì) four
五 (wǔ) five
六 (lìu) six
七 (qī) seven
八 (bā) eight
九 (jǐu) nine
十 (shí) ten
Numbers 11 and 12 follow a certain pattern. To say 11, we essentially say “10+1,” and 12 is basically “10+2.” Therefore:
十一 (shí yī) eleven
十二 (shí èr) twelve
Learn to Use the Number +点 Formula
Now that we’ve covered digits 1 through 12, we can easily tell hours in Chinese. For example:
• 两点 (liǎng diǎn) two o’clock
• 七点 (qī diǎn) seven o’clock
• 十一点 (shí yī diǎn) eleven o’clock
• 十二点 (shí èr diǎn) twelve o’clock
Let’s move on to telling minutes.
How to Name Minutes in Chinese
To tell minutes in Chinese, use the formula:
number + 分 (fēn – minutes).
To ensure that you’ll always know how to talk about minutes, let’s review the digits up to 60.
Step 1: Have a Quick Review of Chinese Numbers 11-60
Teen digits in Chinese are “10+x,” with x being the number added to 10. For example:
• 十三 (shí sān) thirteen
• 十四 (shí sì) fourteen
• 十五 (shí wǔ) fifteen
• 十九 (shí jǐu) nineteen
The twenties follow a pattern like the teens:
• 二十 (èr shí) twenty or “two tens”
• 二十一 (èr shí yī) twenty-one or “two tens plus one”
• 二十二 (èr shí è) twenty-two or “two tens plus two”
The thirties, forties and fifties follow same pattern:
• 三十 (sān shí) thirty
• 三十三 (sān shí sān) thirty-three
• 四十 (sì shí) forty
• 四十四 (sì shí sì) forty-four
• 五十 (wǔ shí) fifty
• 五十六 (wǔ shí lìu) fifty-six
Step 2: Learn to Use the Number + 分 Formula
Based on what we’ve learned above, here are some examples of how to tell minutes:
• 十三分 (shí sān fēn) thirteen minutes
• 十四分 (shí sì fēn) forteen minutes
• 三十三 (sān shí sān fēn) thirty-three minutes
• 五十 (wǔ shí fēn) fifty minutes
Note that, whereas in English it’s fine to omit the word “minutes” (for 8:10, we just say “eight ten”), in Chinese it sounds more natural to
always include 分 and say “minutes.”
So, it’s correct to say, “八点十分” (bā diǎn shí fēn),literally “eight o’clock ten minutes.”
How to Tell Half and Quarter Hours
To say “half past,” we use 半 (bàn) which means “half.” For example:
五点半 (wǔ diǎn bàn) half past five, 5:30.
To indicate quarters, we say 一刻 (yī kè) which means “quarter hour.” For example:
三点一刻 (sān diǎn yī kè) quarter past three, 3:15.
Just to note, in Chinese, there’s no “ten to” or “ten past.” Similarly, in Chinese, there’s also no “quarter to.” There’s only “quarter after.”
Interesting, I know—that’s just the way it is!
Below, we’ll combine everything we’ve learned so far and show you examples of how to indicate half and quarter hours.
How to Tell Any Time in Chinese
We’re now familiar with the number system and how to tell hours and minutes. Let’s put it all together and go through some examples of
telling time.
• 11:20
十一点二十分 (shí yī diǎn è shí fēn) eleven twenty
• 4:10
四点十分 (sì diǎn shí fēn) four ten
• 9:15
九点十五分 (jǐu diǎn shí wǔ fēn) nine fifteen
九点一刻 (jǐu diǎn yī kè) quarter after nine
• 1:30
一点三十分 (yī diǎn sān shí fēn) one thirty
一点半 (yī diǎn bàn) half past one