Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
Telling time in Chinese
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
点 (diǎn) names an hour and 分 (fēn) names minutes when telling the time. 半 (bàn) means half. Use 上午、下午 or 晚上 when the part of the day matters.
现在是下午三点半。
Xiànzài shì xiàwǔ sān diǎn bàn.
It is half past three in the afternoon.
我们八点十分出发。
Wǒmen bā diǎn shí fēn chūfā.
We leave at ten past eight.
三点 is three o’clock; 三个小时 is a duration of three hours. 时间 means time in a general sense.
Try it
What time is 两点半?
- 2:30
- 2:15
- 12:30
Answer and explanation
2:30. 两点 is two o’clock; 半 adds half an hour.