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  <title>Structure of times (basic)</title>
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  <h1>Structure of times (basic)</h1>

  <p>Time in Chinese, just like in English, is expressed by stating the hour first, and then the minute.</p>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_74">Contents</h2>

  <div class="contents">
    <ul>
      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#On_the_hour"> 1 On the hour</a> 

      <ul>
        <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#Structure"> 1.1 Structure</a></li>

        <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#Examples"> 1.2 Examples</a></li>
      </ul></li>

      <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#Half_hours"> 2 Half hours</a> 

      <ul>
        <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#Structure_2"> 2.1 Structure</a></li>

        <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#Examples_2"> 2.2 Examples</a></li>
      </ul></li>

      <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#See_also"> 3 See also</a></li>

      <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#Sources_and_further_reading"> 4 Sources and further reading</a> 

      <ul>
        <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9"><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28basic%29#Books"> 4.1 Books</a></li>
      </ul></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_75"><span id="On_the_hour">On the hour</span></h2>

  <p>The time of day in Chinese is formed with a <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_numbers" title="Structure of numbers">number</a> 1 to 12 (<span class="hanzi">一</span> (<span class="pinyin">yī</span>) to <span class="hanzi">十二</span> (<span class="pinyin">shí-èr</span>)) followed by <span class="hanzi">点</span> (<span class="pinyin">diăn</span>). This <span class="hanzi">点</span> (<span class="pinyin">diăn</span>) is equivalent to <i><b>o'clock</b></i> in English. In China, people generally use a twelve-hour clock, preceded by <span class="hanzi">上午</span> (<span class="pinyin">shàngwŭ</span>) for "a.m." or <span class="hanzi">下午</span> (<span class="pinyin">xiàwŭ</span>) for "p.m." when necessary.</p>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_76"><span id="Structure">Structure</span></h3>

  <div class="deux">
    (Date and/or time of day +) x&nbsp;<span style="color: rgb(139, 0, 0); font-family: NotoSansCJKsc; font-size: 22px;">点</span>
  </div>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_77">Examples</h3>

  <p>If you want to include more specific information, start with the day or date, followed by the general time of day, with the exact clock time last. (This is the big-to-small pattern.)</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">九 点</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">jiǔ diǎn </span> <br/>9 o'clock</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">上午 七 点</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">shàngwǔ qī diǎn </span> <br/>7 o'clock a.m.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">下午 四 点</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">xiàwǔ sì diǎn </span> <br/>4 o'clock p.m.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">中午 十二 点</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">zhōngwǔ shí-èr diǎn </span> <br/>12 o'clock noon</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">明天 晚上 七 点</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">míngtiān wǎnshang qī diǎn </span> <br/>7 o'clock p.m. tomorrow evening</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">9 月 9 号 早上 六 点</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">jiǔ yuè jiǔ hào zǎoshang liù diǎn </span> <br/>September 9th, 6 o'clock a.m.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">星期三 上午 九 点</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Xīngqīsān shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn </span> <br/>Wednesday at 9 o'clock a.m.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>Note that <b>two o'clock is </b><span class="hanzi">两点</span> (<span class="pinyin">liǎng diǎn</span>), not <span class="hanzi">二点</span> (<span class="pinyin">èr diǎn</span>). (For more information on when to use <span class="hanzi">两</span> (<span class="pinyin">liǎng</span>) vs. <span class="hanzi">二</span> (<span class="pinyin">èr</span>), see <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%22Er%22_and_%22liang%22" title="&quot;Er&quot; and &quot;liang&quot;">"Er" and "liang"</a>).</p>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_78">Half hours</h2>

  <p>Half hours are added after <span class="hanzi">点</span> (<span class="pinyin">diăn</span>) and are indicated with <span class="hanzi">半</span> (<span class="pinyin">bàn</span>).</p>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_79">Structure</h3>

  <div class="deux">
    x <span class="hanzist">点</span> + <span class="hanzi">半</span>
  </div>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_80"><span id="Examples_2">Examples</span></h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">五 点 半</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">wǔ diǎn bàn </span> <br/>5:30</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">下午 两 点 半</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn bàn </span> <br/>2:30 p.m.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">星期天 上午 十 点 半</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Xīngqītiān shàngwǔ shí diǎn bàn </span> <br/>Sunday at 10:30 a.m.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">昨天 晚上 七 点 半</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">zuótiān wǎnshang qī diǎn bàn </span> <br/>7:30 yesterday evening</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">今天 下午 四 点 半</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">jīntiān xiàwǔ sì diǎn bàn </span> <br/>4:30 p.m. this afternoon.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <p>As a beginner, that should be all you need. If you've mastered all of these structures and want to get a little more advanced, see <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28advanced%29" title="Structure of times (advanced)">structure of times (advanced)</a>.</p>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_81">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_times_%28advanced%29" title="Structure of times (advanced)">Structure of times (advanced)</a></li>

    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_numbers" title="Structure of numbers">Structure of numbers</a></li>

    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_dates" title="Structure of dates">Structure of dates</a></li>

    <li><a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Structure_of_days_of_the_week" title="Structure of days of the week">Structure of days of the week</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sigil_toc_id_82">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="sigil_toc_id_83">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 74-5)　</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>) (pp. 160)</li>

    <li>New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (<span class="hanzi">新实用汉语课本1</span>)(2nd ed) (pp. 185)</li>
  </ul>
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