Time in Chinese
Pick any clock time and see exactly how to say it in Mandarin, with pinyin and audio.
上午九点半
shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn bàn
Spoken Chinese states the part of day before the hour (下午三点 = 3 pm), half past is 半, quarter past is 一刻 — and 2 o'clock is always 两点, never 二点.
Every hour of the day in Chinese
- 12am凌晨十二点整língchén shíèr diǎn zhěng
- 1am凌晨一点整língchén yī diǎn zhěng
- 2am凌晨两点整língchén liǎng diǎn zhěng
- 3am凌晨三点整língchén sān diǎn zhěng
- 4am凌晨四点整língchén sì diǎn zhěng
- 5am凌晨五点整língchén wǔ diǎn zhěng
- 6am早上六点整zǎoshang liù diǎn zhěng
- 7am早上七点整zǎoshang qī diǎn zhěng
- 8am早上八点整zǎoshang bā diǎn zhěng
- 9am上午九点整shàngwǔ jiǔ diǎn zhěng
- 10am上午十点整shàngwǔ shí diǎn zhěng
- 11am上午十一点整shàngwǔ shíyī diǎn zhěng
- 12pm中午十二点整zhōngwǔ shíèr diǎn zhěng
- 1pm下午一点整xiàwǔ yī diǎn zhěng
- 2pm下午两点整xiàwǔ liǎng diǎn zhěng
- 3pm下午三点整xiàwǔ sān diǎn zhěng
- 4pm下午四点整xiàwǔ sì diǎn zhěng
- 5pm下午五点整xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn zhěng
- 6pm晚上六点整wǎnshang liù diǎn zhěng
- 7pm晚上七点整wǎnshang qī diǎn zhěng
- 8pm晚上八点整wǎnshang bā diǎn zhěng
- 9pm晚上九点整wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn zhěng
- 10pm晚上十点整wǎnshang shí diǎn zhěng
- 11pm晚上十一点整wǎnshang shíyī diǎn zhěng
Chinese says the part of the day first (凌晨, 早上, 上午, 中午, 下午, 晚上), then the hour with 点. Two o’clock is always 两点, never 二点.
Chinese clock time is refreshingly logical: hour + 点 (diǎn, "o'clock") + minutes. The catches are small but non-negotiable. Two o'clock is 两点 (liǎng diǎn), never 二点. Half past is 半 (bàn), quarter past is 一刻 (yí kè), quarter to the next hour is 三刻 (sān kè). And minutes below ten insert a 零 (líng, zero): 3:05 is 三点零五分.
Because Chinese rarely uses a 24-hour clock in speech, the part of day comes *before* the hour: 早上七点 (7 am), 下午三点 (3 pm), 晚上十点 (10 pm). Pick any time above and listen — the hours are packed with tone-pair practice, and 十 (shí) vs 四 (sì) is one of the classic listening traps.
Why is 2:00 两点 and not 二点?
二 (èr) is for counting and math; 两 (liǎng) is used before measure words, and 点 works like a measure word for hours. The same rule gives you 两个人 (two people).
How do I say am and pm?
Put the period of day before the hour: 早上 (early morning), 上午 (morning), 中午 (noon), 下午 (afternoon), 晚上 (evening), 凌晨 (small hours). 下午三点 = 3 pm.
What is 一刻?
A quarter of an hour: 三点一刻 is 3:15, 三点三刻 is 3:45. There is no 二刻 — 3:30 is 三点半 (half past).
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