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Mythic Mandarin

What time is it? 点, 分, 半 and 差

HSK 1 Unit 3: Days and routines · Lesson 2 of 5 · About 16 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can tell the time to the minute with 点, 分 and 半, say minutes to the hour with 差 and ask when with 什么时候.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 吃饭 mean?

    1. photo
    2. to eat, to have a meal
    3. older sister
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, to eat, to have a meal.

    吃饭 (chīfàn) means to eat, to have a meal.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “morning (before noon)”?

    1. 司机
    2. 女儿
    3. 上午
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 上午.

    “morning (before noon)” is 上午 (shàngwǔ).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    英国 Yīngguó

    1. country
    2. friend
    3. the United Kingdom
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, the United Kingdom.

    You heard 英国 (Yīngguó): the United Kingdom.

New words

  • 分fēnminute
  • 半bànhalf
  • 差chàto be short of
  • 时候shíhoutime, moment

Hours and minutes

The hour is a number + 点, the minutes a number + 分. Half past is 半. For two o'clock, say 两点, not 二点.

Telling the time
ChineseTime
七点 qī diǎn7:00
七点十分 qī diǎn shí fēn7:10
七点半 qī diǎn bàn7:30
两点 liǎng diǎn2:00

For minutes to the hour, use 差 (chà, short of): 差五分八点 is five minutes short of eight, 7:55.

  • 现在八点半。

    Xiànzài bā diǎn bàn.

    It's half past eight.

  • 现在差十分九点。

    Xiànzài chà shí fēn jiǔ diǎn.

    It's ten to nine.

  • Not: 八半点

    But: 八点半 Bā diǎn bàn

    Hour first, then 半.

When? 什么时候

什么时候 (shénme shíhou) asks when. It sits where the answer goes, before the verb.

  • 你什么时候去？

    Nǐ shénme shíhou qù?

    When are you going?

  • 我三点去。

    Wǒ sān diǎn qù.

    I'm going at three.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

What time is it?

Zhang Wei and Li Ming are going to visit Liu Fang.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What time is it now?

    1. 9:10
    2. 8:50
    3. 9:30
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 8:50.

    李明 says 八点五十分: 8:50.

  2. Listening

    When are they going to Liu Fang's?

    1. nine o'clock
    2. half past nine
    3. nine twenty
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, half past nine.

    李明 says 九点半: half past nine.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 张伟

    李明Lǐ Míng，现在xiànzài几jǐ点diǎn？

    Li Ming, what time is it?

  2. 李明

    八Bā点diǎn五十wǔshí分fēn。

    Eight fifty.

  3. 张伟

    我们Wǒmen什么shénme时候shíhou去qù刘芳Liú Fāng家jiā？

    When are we going to Liu Fang's?

  4. 李明

    九Jiǔ点diǎn半bàn。

    At half past nine.

  5. 张伟

    好Hǎo。九Jiǔ点diǎn我wǒ去qù买mǎi茶chá。

    OK. At nine I'll go and buy some tea.

  6. 李明

    好Hǎo，九jiǔ点diǎn二十èrshí分fēn见jiàn！

    OK, see you at nine twenty!

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 九点半。

    Jiǔ diǎn bàn.

    At half past nine.

  • 八点五十分。

    Bā diǎn wǔshí fēn.

    Eight fifty.

  • 好，九点二十分见！

    Hǎo, jiǔ diǎn èrshí fēn jiàn!

    OK, see you at nine twenty!

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 分 mean?

    1. minute
    2. which
    3. person
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, minute.

    分 (fēn) means minute.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “half”?

    1. 半
    2. 做
    3. 看
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 半.

    “half” is 半 (bàn).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 差 (to be short of)?

    1. chá
    2. chǎ
    3. chà
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, chà.

    差 is read chà. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    时候 shíhou

    1. four
    2. today
    3. time, moment
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, time, moment.

    You heard 时候 (shíhou): time, moment.

  5. Pinyin

    Type the pinyin of 分 (minute). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.

    Show the answer

    Answer: fēn

    分 is fēn in pinyin.

  6. Grammar

    How do you say 8:30?

    1. 八点半
    2. 八半点
    3. 半八点
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 八点半.

    八点半: hour, then 半.

  7. Listening

    Listen. What time do you hear?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    现在七点十五分。 Xiànzài qī diǎn shíwǔ fēn.

    1. 7:50
    2. 7:15
    3. 7:05
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 7:15.

    七点十五分: 7:15.

  8. In context

    You want to ask when someone is going. What do you say?

    1. 你去什么？
    2. 你什么时候去？
    3. 现在几点？
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 你什么时候去？.

    你什么时候去？ asks when.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for half past two

    Show the answer

    Answer: 两点半

    两点半: two, then 半. Remember 两 for two o'clock.

Your timetable

Look at a clock three times today and say the time out loud in Chinese each time.

  1. 现在…点…分。
  2. Once, use 半 or 差.
  3. Ask someone 你什么时候…？

Sentence frames

  • 现在＿＿点＿＿分。

    Xiànzài ＿＿ diǎn ＿＿ fēn.

    It's ... (hours) ... (minutes).

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can tell the time with 点 and 分.
  • I can say half past with 半 and minutes to with 差.
  • I can ask when with 什么时候.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: Getting up and going to bed